Never Say Never: Rose and Scorpius
by hoyas
Summary: Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy have hated each others guts for the past six years. Now, however, they've been thrown together and must co-operate if they are to have any chance of winning an inter-house competition. Prepare yourselves for a bloodbath.
1. The stakes are high

**AUTHORS NOTE: Hey guys! Well, this here is my first story ever on fanfiction, so I hope you all like it. Any constructive criticism would be more than appreciated. There are many more chapters to come, and I actually go on break from school tomorrow, so updating should come fairly quickly. This is a Rose/Scorpius story if you haven't noticed yet. Hope you like it!**

"Oh, come on Rosie. Pleaseeeeee".

Rolling my eyes, I continued to ignore the whines and pleas coming from my cousin Albus, despite the fact that the sound of his voice was growing more and more desperate with each stretched out syllable.

"Rosieee!"

A growl escaped my thinly pressed lips and with yet another roll of my eyes, I glanced over my shoulder in order to glare at Albus. "No. You are most certainly not worthy of my forgiveness at this moment." From behind Albus, Hugo began to snicker, no doubt finding his cousins predicament quite amusing. Despite his macho-man facade, everyone in the Weasley- Potter clan knew that Albus couldn't stand having any one of his cousins be cross with him. This generalization was especially true when it concerned me, for out of all the Weasley-Potter cousins, Albus and I were the closest.

"Rose, I really think you ought to just go and forgive him before he starts crying or something." Hugo quipped, a laugh soon following his comment. Despite the fact that I didn't even bother to turn around, I could practically feel the glare Albus was surely sending Hugo's way.

"No." I snapped as I continued walking down the halls of the Hogwarts express in search of an empty compartment I could dump my stuff in before heading off to meet the other prefects. "If I even felt like talking to Albus at the moment, I would kindly inform him that telling my father about the boy I snogged at the end of last year was most certainly not acceptable. Especially not at the dinner table, where there are sharp utensils within his immediate reach." Though to some it might have seemed as if I was overreacting, the truth was that Albus was quite lucky I hadn't inflicted some sort of bodily harm upon him yet. My father Ron was known for his obscene temper, and Albus really had gone too far to mention some boy I had hooked up with at the end of the year party in front of him. Albus swore that it had been an accident, a mere slip of the tongue, but I knew better. Albus was merely getting me back for embarrassing him in front of Emma Creevey at the end of last year. Albus had, had a huge crush on Emma for all of the second semester, despite the fact that she was a year older than he was, and had no intention of having a boyfriend within Hogwarts whilst she was about to graduate. The worst part about the whole thing was that Albus had merely roared with laughter while Ronald had threatened to hunt down the boy in question.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry!" Albus exclaimed, finally giving me the apology I had been waiting for since last night. Though I knew that I was more than certainly going to forgive Albus within a matter of minutes, I didn't want to make things so easy for him. Oh, no, despite the fact that I loved my cousin dearly, I wanted nothing more than to knock his oversized ego down a few pegs.

"Oh, you're sorry now, eh?" I questioned, still not bothering to look at Albus. The three of us had reached the end of the hall by now, and I had finally spotted an empty carriage. With my hand wrapped around the door handle, I spun around and faced Albus. "I don't think I'll let you off so easily this time around Albus." There was a prominent smirk twitching at the corners of my lips and it took all of my will power to suppress it. Especially as I saw a look of desperation form across the face of my dear cousin. Albus was a lot of things- including pompous and quite narcissistic. However, he was also a huge teddy bear underneath it all. No, really, he was a lot like my own father in that way.

In seconds, Albus had reached out his hand and was currently gripping my thin wrist. "Oh, come off it Rosie. I said I was sorry! What else do you want? I'll do just about anything, I swear." The look on Albus' face at the present moment was so distraught that a part of me actually felt bad about stringing this out for so long. After all, I knew how important family was to Albus.

"Ugh. Stop your groveling Potter, it's absolutely disgusting. Frankly, I don't understand why you would want _her_ talking to you anyway, but I suppose someone like you can't find better company."

The all too familiar voice cut through the air just as I had opened my mouth to accept Albus' apology. Almost as if by reflex, a groan escaped from my lips as I rolled my eyes. However, before I could even think up a snide remark to throw back, Albus had opened his big mouth.

"Sodder off Malfoy." The tone in Albus' voice was nothing short of disgusted, and frankly, I couldn't blame him. Scorpius Malfoy was definitely one of Albus' least favorite people, and frankly, he was most certainly on my list as well.

"Oh, really great comeback there Potter. Your wit never ceases to amaze me." The tone in Scorpius' voice was dripping with sarcasm, and had I not been completely and utterly revolted by his presence, I probably would have laughed at the comment. However, the thing was, that I was in fact completely and utterly revolted by his presence. Beside me, I could hear Albus take in a sharp breath and I put a hand on his arm to calm him down.

"Do calm down Albus, he's most certainly not worth it." I chimed in, doing my very best to keep the tone in my voice nonchalant and monotone. I preferred to make it appear as if Scorpius didn't rile me up just as badly as he riled up my cousin.

Almost as soon as the words had left my lips, Scorpius rewarded me with his trademark smirk. "And who exactly are you to be passing judgment on people Weasley? Especially when it comes to a persons worth. After all, your entire family is worth very little." Scorpius followed his words with a chuckle. In an instant, I felt something snap inside of me and my eyes narrowed at Scorpius in disdain. So much for not letting Scorpius rile me up this year.

"My family is worth much more than yours Malfoy. Especially to the wizarding community at large. I think you can deduce exactly what I mean by that." Sarcasm dripped off of each word and the look I was currently shooting Scorpius would have sent most people running. Scorpius however, barely flinched. Rather, the corners of his lips twitched downwards, transforming his smirk into a sneer.

"Not to those people who matter." Scorpius retorted, venom in each syllable. Scorpius' brows were slightly raised and his nose was wrinkled, giving off the impression that he felt as if Albus, Hugo, and I were all beneath him. Truth be told, I was willing to bet several hundred galleons that he did, in fact, think that we were beneath him.

A snort escaped me and I rolled my eyes in a dramatic fashion, "In the sake of maintaining some semblance of decency, for lord knows you won't be making any attempt, I'll refrain from commenting on who those so called people who matter really are. " A hundred accusations were resting on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't have the malice to speak them.

"Oh, do tell Weasley." Scorpius replied, feigning a curious tone. It was evident that Scorpius already knew what I was going to say, and he just wanted me to say it myself so that he had reason to be even crueler.

"No." I snapped back, glaring at him as I began to pull open the compartment door. "I'd rat-"

I was soon caught off my Albus, who clearly was not as capable of controlling his temper. "Well if Rose won't do it, I will. I'm sure the only people you're thinking of are-" Fortunately for the lot of us, Albus was cut off by a rather annoyed looking Lily Potter. As she rounded the corner, Lily cleared her throat loudly, "Albus!" She exclaimed, shooting him a glare. Lily clearly knew the words that were about to spill from Albus' mouth, and she had cut him off just in time. After I had shot Lily a grateful look, my eyes shifted back onto Scorpius, who looked just about ready to hex Albus into oblivion.

"Why don't you just finish that sentence Potter." Scorpius hissed, "Or are you really going to let your little sister tell you what to do." The look on Scorpius' face was absolutely menacing, and I was even more grateful that Lily had showed up when she had. Despite the fact that I hated Scorpius Malfoy with every fiber of my being, I was firm in my belief that bringing up the Second War alliances was off limits.

"Well, it's better that he listen to his sister than the likes of you, Malfoy." I quickly piped up, just in case Albus was thinking of complying with Malfoy's request. "So, please, do us all a favor and just saunter off to wherever you came from. I'm sure your grimy little friends miss you." With that, I pulled the door to the compartment open and practically shoved Albus inside. After shooting me a very pointed glare, Scorpius began to strut down the hallway.

As Scorpius rounded the corner, a sigh of relief escaped me and I entered the compartment. Situating myself next to Lily, I turned my attention over to Albus. Clearing my throat, I drew his attention to the look I was currently giving him.

"Whaaaaat?" Albus questioned, giving me the most innocent look he could muster up. With a groan, I rolled my eyes and pushed a hand through my thick red hair. "You're impossible Albus. You know very well that certain things are simply off limits."

"Bloody hell Rose, if I didn't know any better, I would say you were defending him."

Another groan escaped me, "Good thing you know better then Albus. Just because I'd rather not have to bring you to Madame Pomfrey in a matchbox doesn't mean I'm sticking up for the snake. Au contraire, I'm looking out for you." With that, I stood up and rifled through my trunk in search of my prefects badge.

"Yes, well, I'm off to the prefect compartment. I'll be back later. Behave yourselves and listen to what Lily says." Laughing lightly, I opened the door to the compartment, practically imagining the look Albus was wearing after I had just told him to obey his younger sister. As the sliding door began to close, I distinctly heard Albus muttering about how he could have easily taken down Scorpius Malfoy.

Shaking my head, I continued down the hallway towards the prefect compartment. Seventh year hadn't even officially begun, and already Scorpius Malfoy had caused some sort of dispute with my family. Despite myself, I shook my head as a string of profanities escaped my lips, causing a few of the passing first years to give me strange looks. The truth was that it hadn't always been like this between Scorpius and myself. True, we had never been friends, but things had been fairly civil between the two of us during our first two years at school. The bad blood had really started after first term grades had been released during out third year. Scorpius and I had always been extremely academically competitive with one another, and when we tied for first in our year in Potions, an argument had exploded between the two of us. I had called Scorpius arrogant and narcissistic, he called me pompous and a know it all. From there, the argument regressed to even fouler names being thrown around between the two of us. The words 'pureblood', and 'inbred' had slipped from my lips, which resulted in Scorpius uttering the word 'mudblood'. That was the moment I began to loathe Scorpius Malfoy, and I was fairly certain that, that was the moment he started to hate me as well.

Finally arriving at the front of the train, I spotted the prefects compartment and pulled the door open with a smile gracing my face. A few of the prefects had already arrived, and both the Head Boy, and Head Girl were already seated. "Hey guys." I greeted, my tone of voice far more upbeat than it had been a few minutes ago. As I sat down, I smiled at my cousin Molly. "Hey Molls, congrats on Head Girl!" Though the tone in my voice was chipper and congratulatory, I felt a pang of jealousy hit me. I had wanted to get Head Girl so badly, and when Molly had received it instead I had been absolutely devastated. For days after the announcement, I had sulked about it, convinced that McGonagall had made some sort of mistake. After all, despite the fact that Molly was a Ravenclaw, I had better marks than her in every subject. However, over time I had come to realize why Molly had been chosen over me. Though I was well behaved enough to maintain my prefect position, my record was far from spotless. After all, I had partaken in quite a number of pranks over the years. It was hard not to when your cousins consisted of James and Albus Potter. Not only that, James had handed me the position of Gryffindo Quidditch captain, meaning that I wouldn't have the time to properly carry out Head Girl duties. Yes, I had eventually realized that Molly had in fact, been the right choice.

That conclusion was further solidified when I saw the smile Molly was giving me. "Thanks Rose, I really appreciate it."

After that brief exchange, I turned my attention over to Emmanuel Zabini- the head boy. Honestly, I had been a little shocked when Emmanuel had been named Head Boy. It wasn't because Emmanuel wasn't a smart guy, for he was, it was merely that he was so quite and reserved. Though, it seemed as if his personality would compliment Molly's rather well. With a nod of my head, I decided that Molly and Emmanuel had in fact, been good choices.

"Okay, well, welcome everyone. I hope you had a pleasant summer."

The sound of Molly's soft, nurturing voice pulled me out of my thoughts and my eyes opened up as I turned my attention to her standing form. With a quick sweep of the compartment, I noticed that we were only missing one of the prefects. I welcome anyone to take a wild guess as to who exactly that was.

"I'd like to start now, just going over a few things for the year. So…"

"Malfoy's not here yet." A voice on the other side of the compartment mumbled. Turning my head, I noticed that said voice had come from Adeline Crowley- the seventh year female Slytherin prefect. The look on her face was a mixture between sheer boredom and utter annoyance.

"Oh, right." Molly's voice was soft, and she sounded quite dejected at the prospect of not being able to start. With a soft sigh, Molly sat back down next to Emmanuel, and the two of them began to engage in light conversation. Sighing in annoyance, I sank further into my seat and turned my head to the left in the hope that I could start a conversation with my fellow seventh year prefect. The moment I looked over to my left, however, the door to the compartment opened and I didn't even have to turn around to know who had just arrived. After all, even his footsteps sounded pompous. He did have a swagger after all.

"Nice of you to finally join us Malfoy," I hissed, as I slowly turned my head to face Molly.

"Yes well, I just was feeling charitable today Weasley. You should consider yourself honored." Malfoy retaliated, the smirk on his face almost as wide as a licorice wand. As he began to make his way over to the seat beside Adeline Crowley, I promptly stuck out my foot, causing Malfoy to stumble and trip a few times before Adeline reached out a hand to steady him. As snickering began to fill the prefect compartment, a smug look appeared on my face and I watched with great amusement as Malfoy snapped his head around to shoot me the nastiest glare I had ever seen. Really, it warmed my heart to no end.

"How dare you Weaselbee." Malfoy hissed. The absolute hatred that shone through in his voice shocked me, but once I got over my initial reaction, I forced my face to assume a neutral expression and I merely arched a brow in his direction.

"Oh, sorry, what?" I questioned, a smirk playing out across my lips as pretended to not have heard a thing Malfoy had just said. Which really, if I had the choice, I would have opted for. A growl escaped Malfoy's lips and for a second I thought we were actually going to get into some sort of fight. Come on Malfoy, bring it on.

"All right, shut up. Both of you." Emmanuel finally piped in, and the entire compartment turned to look at him. To be honest, I was a bit surprised at the forcefulness of Emmanuel's voice, and from the look on Malfoy's face he was as well. Especially considering Malfoy and Emmanuel were supposed to be good friends. "Molly and I have a few things we'd like to discuss and honestly, the faster you two shut up, the faster you get to get out of each others presence."

Shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly, I nodded my head in agreement. Emmanuel most certainly did have a point. "So, yeah, Molly, you can take it from here." With that, Emmanuel pressed his lips together and sat down, just as Molly stood up.

"Thanks." Molly began, but not before giving Emmanuel a warm smile. In the back of my head, I couldn't help but think about how well they complimented one another. Yes, McGonagall had made an absolutely brilliant decision.

"Right, so, Emmanuel and I were thinking that this year we were going to spice things up a little bit." Molly said, a broad smile coming over her face. Quietly, I scoffed to myself. Sure, I loved the living daylights out of my cousin, but Molly Weasley was the opposite of spice. From across the room, I distinctly heard Malfoy let out a loud snort. Narrowing my eyes, I shot him the dirtiest glare I could muster up. No one was allowed to think ill of my cousins, except for myself of course.

"Right, well…" Molly continued, trying to pretend as if she had never heard Malfoy's little outburts, however from the slight blush creeping up onto her cheeks, I could tell she had. The glare that I was shooting Malfoy only intensified. "Emmanuel and I were trying of ways to make this year different than all the rest, and well, we decided we would have a whole year of inter-house wars! Kind of like the muggle version of color wars!" The look on Molly's face as she finally spit it out was overjoyed, and I couldn't help but smile. Frankly, it sounded like a bloody brilliant idea to me. I couldn't wait to completely cream Slytherin in every thing.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one thinking that for a moment later, Frank Longbottom, my fellow Seventh year prefect elbowed me in the ribs. As I turned my head to face him, the smirk on his face told me everything I needed to know. "Oh, yes, so ready!" I exclaimed, nodding my head. The entire compartment was abuzz, and Emmanuel stood up once more.

"There's a catch though."

Oh, of course. Nothing was every so simple.

"McGonogall was afraid that out little idea would only serve to intensify certain house rivalries. Especially between some people." Emmanuel gave both Malfoy and I pointed looks, and I let out a huff. "So, in order to mitigate her fears, we had to merge the house teams for this little war of ours. You know, in order to cool off certain rivalries."

Emmanuel actually made a lot of sense at the moment. After all, Gryffindors were known for their hot-headedness, and the sturdy Ravenclaws were surely going to cool us down.

"So, that's why we've decided to have Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff together on one team, and Slytherin and Gryffindor make up the other team."

"Fantastic, right, well…" The excitement in my voice instantly died as I realized exactly what Emmanuel had said. "WHAT?"I screeched, turning my head to look at Molly and Emmanuel, my blue eyes as wide as saucers. "You have got to be kidding me!" All my dreams of a Ravenclaw- Gryffindor alliance were now shattered with thoughts of a Slytherin-Gryffindor bloodbath.

Emmanuel cleared his throat, casting me a disapproving look. "It was McGonagalls idea. Honest." The tone in his voice was stern, and yet, there seemed to be a drop of an apology in there. Odd. Despite that fact however, a string of profanities began to escape my lips and Frank had to put a hand on my arm in an attempt to calm me down.

"Well, what will the first event be?" Piped in Elouise Creevey, the 7th year Ravenclaw prefect.

"A Quidditch match." Molly beamed. My jaw instantly dropped and I gaped at Molly in complete shock. There was no way in hell that my own cousin was doing this. Instantly, my head whipped around to look at Malfoy, who looked just as peeved and ticked off as I was. It really would just happen to be that while I was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, he was the Slytherin Quidditch captain. Oh yeah, and did I mention the fact that we both played the same position.

Love my life. No really, Molly and Emmanuel both deserved a bloody medal for their evil, grand master plan.


	2. rough waters

**Disclaimer: I'm simply not cool enough to be J.K. Rowling. Thus, I do not own Rose, Scorpius, or Hogwarts.**

**A/N: Hey guys! Well, I would just like to extend a huge THANK YOU to those of you who put this story on their alert list, and to those of you who added the last chapter to their favorites list. Also, a huge thank you to chewing-gum-addicted for reviewing the last chapter. **

**Here is chapter 2. Hope you guys like it!**

The moment Molly and Emmanuel had dismissed all of the prefects, I had stalked off towards the compartment I was sharing with Albus, Lily, and Hugo. I had been so angry over the fact that I was going to be forced to work with Malfoy on this inter-house war stuff that I was in absolutely no mood to troll around in the hall doing my prefect duties. Truth be told, it was probably for the best for considering the mood I was in, I probably would have scarred some of the first years for life. When I had entered the compartment, and had just sat down in a huff, Hugo, Lily, and Albus had all begun to question my mood. Rather than just flat out telling them what was going on, I merely brushed them off and told them that they would find out later. While I would have loved to have three other people to complain with, I feared that if I repeated the situation I would get even more riled up.

Now however, as we were shuffling through the hallway of the train in order to get off, I couldn't ignore Lily's pleas any longer. "Ugh, fine." I grumbled, "We're going to have an inter- house battle all year long."

As soon as those words were out of my mouth, Lily's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, Albus smirked to himself, and Hugo pumped his fist like an idiot. "Don't get so excited yet. We're being paired with the Slytherins, and out first challenge is a Quidditch match." In an instant, all the smugness had disappeared off of all three of their faces. Rather, now, all three of them looked as if they had been smacked clear across the face and punched in the gut at the same time. Had the situation not been so distressing, I probably would have started laughing.

"Whose bloody freaking idea was it to have us paired with the Slytherins?" Albus exclaimed as we got off the train and began to head towards a carriage.

"McGonagall." I muttered, glancing around quickly to make sure no one else had noticed Albus' little outburst. I was in absolutely no mood to have to explain what was going on to the entire school.

"I swear to God, she's gone off her rocker!" Albus grumbled, pushing a hand through his thick hair. As those words were uttered, my eyes went wide and Lily and I both turned around to face him. "Albus!" The both of us exclaimed simultaneously, giving him an appalled look.

"Albus, as much as I don't like this, I think you should watch your mouth. If Dad heard you say that about McGonagall he'd give you a good slap upside the head." Lily chided, shaking her head in a disapproving manner.

"Let me oblige." I quipped, smacking Albus upside the head, causing him to duck in protest.

"You know what though Weasley, I think for the first time in his life, your cousin may have just said something intelligent. I guess your family isn't as stupid as I anticipated." A slimy voice drawled from behind us.

An audible groan escaped my lips and I turned my head to see Malfoy standing a few feet behind us with his friends Robert Nott, and Wilson Goyle. The sneer on his face indicated that Malfoy firmly believed he had just said something extremely witty.

"Au contraire Malfoy," I started "Anything that you deem as being mildly intelligent must be idiotic. As for the intelligence in my family, need I remind you how I got better marks than you in nearly every subject last year." The smugness in my voice was evident, and I could care less if gloating about my grades made me sound obnoxious. Malfoy and I had always been extremely competitive when it came to grades, and I loved being able to throw it in his face when I did better than he did.

"Way to sound just like your know-it-all mother, Weasley. No wonder she didn't have any friends at school." Malfoy sneered, taking a few steps closer to me as he did so. Narrowing my eyes at him, I took a defiant step closer to him in order to show him that there was no way in hell he intimidated me.

"At least she had real friends, Malfoy. Unlike your father, who only had friends because the other families were afraid of your grandfather. We all know how well that turned out." A smirk spread across my lips and I folded my arms across my chest. Though I was against outright stating Second War alliances, at this point I was most certainly not above hinting at them. Especially now that Malfoy and I had to co-ordinate cooperation between Gryffindor and Slytherin. No, now I had to let Malfoy know who really was going to be in charge of this little game.

"You know what Weasel, at least the Malfoy name was well-respected. Unlike your stinking family, whose only fame to claim was being incredibly poor, and producing ugly trolls such as yourself."

A frustrated yell escaped my lips and I made a move to lunge at Malfoy, but luckily for him, Hugo grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Malfoy let out a laugh and rolled his eyes, "I'd like to see you try Weasley. I'm sure it would have been at least mildly entertaining."

"Maybe, but nothing will ever be more entertaining to watch than your sorry attempt at conjuring a patronous back during our sixth year." I yelled back as Albus and Hugo began to push me over to the carriage they had secured. I heard a few profanities being yelled in my direction, but I didn't have any chance to respond for Albus and Hugo shoved me right into the carriage and Lily quickly climbed in, shutting the door.

As soon as I took a seat, I could feel three different sets of eyes staring at me. Knowing exactly what sorts of questions were about to come my way, I did my best to avoid looking forward, and rather directed my attention towards the window. As I took in the passing landscape, I could sense that Albus, Hugo, and Lily were growing rather restless. Nevertheless, I refused to look at them. I was personally embarrassed by my little outburst, and I was in no mood to be interrogated.

"What on earth was that Rosie?" Hugo finally blurted out, causing Lily to give him a very pointed look. "I thought you had more self control than Albus over here. I guess not." Hugo added, taking the opportunity to make a jab at both Albus and I.

"Yeah, well, I guess I just lost my cool." I mumbled, still refusing to look at any of my three family members.

"I'll say." Albus mumbled. "I mean, frankly, I thought you were just giving that git what he deserves, I just didn't expect it."

Arching a brow, I glanced over to look at Albus and as I noticed the broad smirk on his face, I rolled my eyes. While Hugo had been the one to grab me back when I had been about to wack Malfoy right across his pretty boy face, I'm pretty sure Albus had been silently cheering me on.

"I guess the idea that I now have to actually try and co-operate with him really got me." I mumbled, turning away from Albus and looking back out towards the landscape. Hogwarts was within view now, and I felt all of my anger towards Malfoy disappear, replaced by an overwhelming excitement to begin my Seventh year. It was then and there that I decided that no matter what happened, I wasn't going to let Malfoy ruin my final year at Hogwarts. The rest of the short ride was spent in silence and when the carriage finally stopped, I was the first one out. I was so embarrassed over my earlier reaction towards Malfoy that I didn't even want to look at my own brother. After all, I was supposed to have the most self-control out of our group.

Resisting the urge to just run into the castle, I waited for the rest of the troupe to climb out. Once all four of us were out of the carriage, we allowed the mass of students to push us into the castle. Only when I finally stepped inside the old building, did it really hit me that this would be the last time I would be entering Hogwarts. A deep sense of nostalgia filled me in that instant, and it took a lot of effort on my part to resist the urge to get all teary-eyed. Now was most certainly not the time to get nostalgic. With a shake of my head, I brought myself back to the present moment and began to usher Albus, Lily and Hugo towards the Gryffndor table. The lot of us sat down with the rest of the Gryffindor Weasley's- Roxanne, Fred, and Louis. To my right sat my fellow 7th year Prefect, Frank Longbottom. As I sat down beside Frank, I caught his eye and he gave me a sly grin.

"What?" I questioned, arching a brow.

"I heard you almost punched Malfoy right in the face." He replied, a smirk playing across his lips. The joy in his voice was obvious.

A groan escaped me and I buried my face in my hands momentarily, a blush creeping up my cheeks. "No." I grumbled into my hands. "I wasn't going to punch him. I just wanted to smack him back into the hole he crawled out of."

From beside me, Frank let out a long and hearty laugh as he swung his arm around my shoulders. I lifted my face away from my hands and looked up at him, only to see that Frank was smiling from ear to ear. "The only thing that could have made this situation better would have been if you had actually smacked him. I'll tell Hugo that if the situation ever arises again, he is not to hold you back."

Laughing, I shook my head and playfully elbowed Frank in the ribs. Despite the fact that I was terribly embarrassed by my actions, it seemed that everyone else approved.

The light chatter at the Gryffindor table continued up until the moment the large oak door creaked open, and the new batch of first year students were ushered in. A hush came over the entire Great Hall as all the students waited eagerly to see what new students their houses would be gaining this year. I usually didn't take all that much interest in the sorting, except for the time when I had a cousin or sibling up there. This time around however, my eyes were glued to the front of the room. After all, there was going to be a house-war this year and any new talent would be greatly appreciated. The sorting hat was brought out and Professor Flitwick, the deputy headmaster, pulled out the long list of new students.

"Abercrombie, Judith!" The little man called out, resulting in a trembling first year to make her way to the front of the room.

And so it began.

********

By the end of the Sorting Ceremony, Gryffindor had managed to gain around twenty new faces. Each and every one of them seemed upbeat and outgoing; possibly perfect for whatever tasks Molly and Emmanuel decided to throw our way. As McGonagall stood up to give her start of the year speech, I groaned. Despite the fact that I was more than ready to have the actual feast start up, I dreaded the complaints I would be hearing from the other members of my house. As McGonagall began, I exchanged glances with Frank and the both of us continued to make faces at each other up until the moment McGonagall began to talk about the upcoming house-wars.

"This year, your new Head Boy and Head Girl, decided to try and spice things up." A laugh escaped my lips as the words 'spice things up' came out of McGonagalls mouth. People really had to stop using the term spice when it came to Molly and Emmanuel, for the two of them, though both nice people were more suited as 'bland'.

"In order to make this year more entertaining, your Heads have decided to start a whole year of house-wars." Instantly, the entire Great Hall erupted into a flurry of conversations. Fred and Louis exchanged mischievous looks, Roxanne began a rather vivid conversation with one of her friends, and across the hall at the Ravenclaw table, I could see the Scamander twins exchange high-fives. This flurry of excitement continued for about a minute, until McGonagall cleared her throat. Eager to hear more, the students shut up and turned their attention back over to the Headmistress.

"The catch however, is that we will be combining the houses." A look of apprehension washed over certain faces. More specifically, most of the Slytherins looked miserable. That lot especially hated working with other people. The rest of the hall however, didn't seem too bothered by the news. They were obviously not prepared for the bombshell McGonagall was going to drop in a few seconds.

"So, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff will be working together, as will Slytherin and Gryffindor." There was a stunned silence in the Great Hall for a few seconds, before loud groans and expletives were emitted from both the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. I could hear a string of profanities being shouted by Roxanne, and as I glanced across the hall, most of the Slytherins looked as if they were just about ready to murder someone. Probability pointed to the idea that they were thinking of Gryffindors they wanted to kill. Keeping my gaze on the Slytherin table, I caught Malfoy's eye. Not wanting to let the moment pass, Malfoy sneered at me. Rolling my eyes at the gesture, I flicked him off before averting my gaze towards McGonagall. While I wasn't usually this vulgar towards Malfoy, this new having to co-operate business was bringing out the worst in me. It was quite ironic really.

This time around when McGonagall cleared her throat, not a single student gave her their attention. A few seconds later, McGonagall tried again, to no avail. As a frustrated look crossed the Headmistress' face, she pointed her wand at her neck, casting a sonorous charm and yelled out, "Silence!"

The Great Hall went silent, and hundreds of stunned faces looked towards the front of the room. I myself turned my attention towards McGonagall, despite the fact that I was well aware of all the information she would be divulging.

"The first challenge will be a Quidditch match. All of you should listen to your prefects, especially your seventh year prefects, for any further information. Welcome to a new year, and let the feast begin!"

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived, and as the food appeared, a goofy grin occupied my face. Most people liked to say that I had inherited my father's appetite, and as much as I would have liked to disagree, I couldn't. Just as I was loading up my plate with food, I became distinctly aware of the fact that there were people watching me. My hand froze and I slowly looked up with dread. Naturally, there were about twenty pairs of very eager eyes on both Frank and I. Slowly, I turned towards Frank and the two of us exchanged extremely apprehensive looks before we were besieged with questions. McGonagall had just had to point out the seventh year prefects, hadn't she?

It was a little over an hour later, that the other Gryffindors had run out of questions, and Frank and I had been allowed to eat. By then, the feast was almost over and we had, had to scarf down our food. Now, as the feast came to a close, Frank and I motioned to the other prefects so that we could begin to lead the first years out of the Great Hall. In order to avoid too much confusion, we allowed the other students to exit the Great Hall and kept all of the first years seated. The new students seemed so small that honestly, I was afraid that if we mixed them up with all of the other kids, we would loose them.

Once the Great Hall had been cleared of the older students, we motioned for the first years to stand up and start heading towards the door. Frank took the front of the line with one of the fifth year prefects, and one of the sixth year prefects. I brought up the rear with the other fifth and sixth year prefects. Just as we were heading out of the Great Hall towards the stairs, I spotted Malfoy sulking near the doors. Really, I don't think there was any other way to describe what he was doing.

I arched a brow in his direction, only to have him motion that I should approach him. I frowned, but nevertheless, I went up to him. "What?" I snapped, wrinkling my nose in disgust just so he could know that I wasn't particularly pleased about the fact that I had to stand within twenty yards of him.

Rolling his eyes, Malfoy let out a scoff. "Oh, please Weasley. Don't act so indignant. I'm not particularly happy about having to speak to you either."

"Fine. What is it?" This time around, I tried to soften the tone in my voice, though there was still a prominent bitter undertone.

"I just wanted to say that I think we should meet tomorrow before breakfast so that we can try and work out this whole Quidditch team thing. Since we're being forced to sort this out together, we might as well get a head start. I'm not going to loose this inter-house thing just because you Gryffindors are incompetent."

I rolled my eyes at Malfoy's last statement, but I had to agree with the rest of it. If we wanted to have any shot at this competition, we had to start earlier than Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, for we would have a lot harder time agreeing on things than the other team.

"Fine. Tomorrow morning at seven sharp."

"Seven?" Malfoy exclaimed, his gray eyes widening. "That's too bloody early Weasley. Some of us actually like to do things on their first night back."

An almost irresistible urge to throttle Malfoy came over me in that instant, and I clenched my fists together to avoid doing something drastic. "Seven sharp tomorrow morning Malfoy. Rachelle Goyle will open her legs for you tomorrow night as well. I'm not going to loose this inter-house thing just because you can't keep it in your pants for one night." I smiled smugly at him before turning on my heel and marching up the stairs triumphantly. Rachelle Goyle was a large, rather burly young woman and I could practically imagine Malfoy shuddering at the thought. James had trained me well.

It didn't take me very long to reach the portrait of the fat lady, and after giving her the password, she swung aside to let me in. As I stepped into the common room, loud music hit my ears, and the scent of firewhiskey reached my nose. Laughing, I shook my head as I approached Albus and Frank.

"You look like you could use some." Frank said sympathetically as he held out a bottle for me.

"You got that right." I replied, laughing along. One thing was for sure; my Seventh year would be a very interesting one.


	3. no going back

**Hey guys! Here's part 3. Thanks to Flicka200 for reviewing the last chapter, and thanks to all of you who put this story on alert and favorited. It keeps me motivated! Sorry it took me a bit longer to update, but College Applications and the Holiday's were keeping me extremely busy. Also, this chapter is a tiny bit shorter than the other two. Hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I own the plot. That's it though. **

It seemed as if the Gryffindor dorms were designed with the expressed purpose of waking its students at the earliest possible time. It was only six fifteen in the morning and the sun was already shining through the window next to my bed, and right onto my face. Letting out a small groan, I rolled onto my stomach, burying my face as deep into my pillow as humanely possible. Despite the fact that I had been well aware of the fact that classes were starting today, I had stayed up a little too late, and had, had a little too much firewhiskey last night. Apparently, I had really needed to unwind after my tiffs with Malfoy. As that thought swept though my mind, I realized that I had arranged to meet with Malfoy in half an hour to start going over our plans for the upcoming Quidditch game. A string of profanities escaped my lips and I groaned into my pillow, cursing myself for having chosen such an early meeting time. Honestly, I should have just given into Malfoy's quip about people liking to do things on their first night back. Damn my desire to always one-up the fellow. After a few more vulgar words had escaped my lips, I decided that I really ought to get up and get ready for my meeting. After all, turning up late would mean Malfoy winning something, and that I simply could not deal with.

Throwing off the covers, I quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed my uniform off of the top of my trunk, where I had laid it out last night. Call me neurotic and over prepared if you wish, but it saves tons of time and keeps wrinkles away. Without so much as glancing back at my sleeping dorm mates, I ran for the showers. I was exhausted, cranky, and extremely bleary eyed but I would hustle if it meant beating Malfoy to the Great Hall.

In forty minutes, I had managed to shower, brush my teeth, throw on my uniform and brush on a touch of make-up so that the dark circles under my eyes didn't seem too prominent. With my bag slung across my right shoulder, I left the Gryffindor common room and began heading down towards the great hall. As far as I could tell, I was the only person in the entire castle who was wandering about at this time. It was eerily quite in the halls, and oddly enough I liked it. It was a nice change when you considered the fact that the halls of the castle were usually filled with hundreds of teenagers all running to their next classes and screaming at each other for one thing or another.

After walking down a few more flights of stairs, I found myself entering the Great Hall. Much like I had expected, the Great Hall was completely deserted. A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I realized I had, through some miracle, managed to beat Malfoy. He was most definitely going to be peeved. With that thought making me feel quite a bit better about the fact that I was running on only five hours of sleep, I sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table in order to wait for Malfoy. It didn't take very long for me to get bored, and I began drumming my fingers against the wooden table. Pursing my lips, I glanced around the empty hall and let out an exasperated sigh. Patience did not run in the Weasley family.

As I turned my head towards the left, I spotted Malfoy entering the Great Hall. Arching a brow at him, I waited to see him walk towards the Gryffindor table. Instead, when Malfoy saw where I was sitting, he raised a brow at me before smirking and heading over to the Slytherin table. Rolling my eyes, I watched as Malfoy sat down at the Slytherin table, facing forward so that he could look right at me. For the next five minutes, the two of us sat in silence, staring at each other. Neither of us wanted to be the first to break.

A frustrated sigh left my lips and I shook my head. "Malfoy, just come sit over here. We need to get this done." Despite the fact that I was in no rush to start conversing with Scorpius Malfoy, I wanted to finalize some plans.

A snort escaped Malfoy and he shook his head. "No. Why don't you come sit over here Weasley."

Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. This was obviously getting us nowhere. "No, I'd rather not contract whatever disease it is that makes all of you Slytherins so insufferable." After that quip had left my lips, I sighed in the realization that trading insults with Malfoy would get us nowhere. "Hufflepuff table?" I questioned, arching a brow in the hopes that, that would be a good enough compromise.

Rather than accepting my compromise, Malfoy wrinkled his nose as a sneer spread across his face. "Don't you have cousins in Hufflepuff, Weasley?"

"I have cousins in every house!" I exclaimed, already extremely frustrated with Malfoy. Did he actually care whether or not I had cousins in Hufflepuff, or was he merely trying to aggravate me further? Honestly, if aggravating me was his goal, then Malfoy was accomplishing it in a spectacular manner.

"Not in Slytherin." He replied smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pursing my lips, I narrowed my eyes at Malfoy. "Nice try." Silence befell the two of us once more and I glanced around the Great Hall to find a solution.

"Staff table?"

I turned my head and glanced at Malfoy, surprised at his suggestion. Nodding my head in agreement, I stood up, grabbed my bag and followed him over to the staff table. Frankly, I was surprised that he had been the one to come up with an acceptable compromise. I had expected him to want to squabble with me all day.

Malfoy sat down in what was usually Slughorns seat, and I took the seat directly to his right. Pulling my bag onto my lap, I pulled out the Gryffindor Quidditch team roster and placed it on the table in front of me.

"Right, yeah, here." Malfoy grumbled, taking out a similar roster and placing it next to mine.

"Do you think we ought to just put together a team, or have them try out against each other?" I arched a brow and leaned back into the chair, waiting for some sort of response from the blond prick sitting to my left. There was a great deal of tension between the two of us at the moment, and I was positive it was because we were both aware of how easily an argument could spring up.

"Well, personally, I think we just ought to keep the Slytherin team. Maybe we can find some sort of position for you Weasley. How does team cheerleader sound? I'm sure that, despite your troll-like qualities, you'd look at least somewhat decent in a short skirt."

My eyes shot up to Malfoy's face to see that he was smirking quite broadly. Narrowing my eyes at him, I kicked his leg under the table, causing him to grunt in pain and lean forward.

"What was that for Weasley?" He hissed at me, narrowing his eyes as he tried to sit back up.

Rather than replying, I shot him a sickly sweet smile, and turned my attention back to the team rosters. Pursing my lips, I realized that Albus and Lily would be extremely ticked off if they were excluded from the team without a chance to prove themselves. Frankly, I thought that both Albus and Lily deserved to be on the team, but I was sure that Malfoy wouldn't just take my word for it and let them on.

"Try outs?" Malfoy and I questioned simultaneously. A bit surprised at our synchronization, I looked up at Malfoy, my eyes wide in surprise. A smirk was playing across Malfoy's lips and he let out a chuckle.

"If you keep thinking like me Weasley, then this process will go a lot faster. Maybe I did underestimate your intelligence last night."

Thoroughly annoyed with him, I brought my foot back to kick him once more. However, as I brought my foot forward in order to make contact with his leg, Malfoy reached his hands down underneath the table and caught my foot. I gave him a look of shock, which Malfoy merely returned with a chuckle.

"You're starting to get predictable Weasley. You might want to step up your game." Malfoy said, a condescending tone in his voice as his signature smirk spread across his voice. The condescending tone, and the smirk were merely made worse by the fact that Malfoy was vehemently nodding his head, as if he were seriously concerned with the state of my 'game'.

Ticked off that Malfoy had one-uped me, I pulled my foot out of his grasp and set it back down onto floor. Unable to think of a witty reply, I looked back down at the Gryffindor team roster. "Glad we got that settled." I muttered, folding up the team list and shoving it back into my bag. There was a faint blush creeping up my face, though it was more out of anger than embarrassment.

Next to me, Malfoy let out a laugh and leaned back into his seat. "Now, let's just deal with the matter of who gets to be seeker."

As soon as those words reached my ears, I looked up at Malfoy and pursed my lips. There was no way I was going to let him be seeker. "I thought we agreed to try out against each other."

"That was for the rest of the team. "

"And why would we be any different?" I watched Malfoy carefully for any indication of what was going on in that twisted brain of his.

"You really want to try out against me Weasley?" The look on Malfoy's face was one of amusement, and I was tempted to smack that smirk right off of his face. For the life of me I could not figure out what was so funny. Really, he ought to have shared for I could have used a good laugh at this point.

"If you would be so kind as to recall last years final match Malfoy, I caught the snitch before you did." The tone in my voice was incredibly smug, and I was sure that the smirk I was wearing could rival Mafloy's.

A dark look flashed across Malfoy's face, but it was gone just as soon as it had appeared. Shrugging his shoulders, Malfoy looked off to the side as if this conversation was of no interest to him. This nonchalant attitude angered me more than if he had been screaming right in my face.

"Fine, we'll try out against each other."

"Great. Whoever wins gets to be seeker, and whoever looses takes one of the chaser positions." I nodded my head as if to finalize that decision. Honestly, if I lost to Malfoy, Chaser was the only other position I would be willing to play. My father had, on multiple occasions, tried to turn me onto being a Keeper, but I always found it to be too boring.

Scorpius nodded before glancing off to the side, as if he didn't know what else to say to me. Either that, or he was cooking up some fiendish insult. After another few seconds of silence, Malfoy turned his head to look at me. "Tryouts this afternoon, at four?"

My mind instantly jumped to the Transfiguration exam I wanted to study for, and I wrinkled my nose in disapproval. Before I could open my mouth to disagree however, Malfoy had already rolled his eyes and let out a rather loud scoff.

"Can't you just put off studying for a few hours Weasley? Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't gone blind from reading all that tiny font all the time."

Anger welled up in me and I frowned deeply. Out of all the people I knew, Malfoy was the only one that could incite this kind of anger within me. It honestly seemed as if he knew exactly which buttons to push.

"Fine, we will have tryouts today at four. Happy now?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes at Malfoy.

A smug smile found its way across Malfoy's face and he nodded his head, "Yes, extremely. I'm glad you've started to see things my way. Maybe we actually have a shot at this competition." The tone in Malfoy's voice matched the look on his face to perfection.

A frustrated growl escaped my lips and gripped the armrest on my seat. "You really do have to have everything your way, don't you? I'm sorry to tell you but that's not how life works. Sometimes you have to make compromises you little twit. That's going to be especially true for you, considering that you rarely have an idea that could even pass as a good one."

"Oh, don't act so righteous Weasley!" Malfoy yelled, gathering up his things, as if we had decided that this meeting was over. Which, by the way, we hadn't. "You're always bossing people around in order to make them do things the way you want them to. You're only pissed off because I'm the only person who won't listen to your commands."

Okay. This meeting was over.

"That is just not true!" I exclaimed, pushing my seat back so I could stand up and gather all of my stuff. "You walk around here as if you own the place and expect people to do things your way just because back in the day, the entire Slytherin house would fall at your fathers feet. News flash, you don't own the place, and only people without any dignity are willing to fall at your feet." Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I turned to face Malfoy. I could feel my face getting red out of anger, and I crossed my arms over my chest so that Malfoy wouldn't be able to see that my hands were shaking due to how enraged I was feeling.

Malfoy stood up as well and sneered at me. The look on his face was a mixture of anger, contempt and disgust. Honestly, it was a very attractive mix. Not. "I do not expect people to fall at my feet Weasley, they just do."

This was another thing that enraged me about Malfoy- the fact that he could just pull out some cool, collected comment while I was shaking with anger. In an attempt to calm myself, I drew in a sharp breath. "Like I said, its only people without dignity. No one with any common sense would want to associate with you, considering your personality is as bad as that of a sociopath."

A dark look flashed across Malfoy's face, and I smiled smugly with the knowledge that I had pushed a button. So much for his collected demeanor. "While I beg to differ, even if I have an awful personality, at least I'm not hideous. I can't imagine how that would feel, so, why don't you enlighten me Weasley, considering that you have to deal with it on a daily basis." Though he wasn't yelling, it was very apparent that Malfoy was pissed off due to the fact that his eyes were narrowed, his fists were clenched, and the look on his face made me feel as if he would enjoy strangling me with his bare hands.

"Jeez, stop flattering yourself you narcissistic pig." I snapped back, running my eyes over Malfoy's body as if I were sizing him up. The truth was that Malfoy was a very attractive young man, but there was no chance in hell that I was going to tell him that. It would only further inflate his already massive ego. "You look as if you haven't seen the sun in a year. The only people who find you the least bit attractive are the girls who would sleep with anything that was male and had a pulse."

"At least some people in this castle find me attractive. Sadly, the same thing cannot be said for you." There he went again, with the unexpected calm, collected comment.

"Malfoy, you are insufferable!" I exclaimed. The Weasley family was infamous for its bad temper, and when Malfoy pressed my buttons in this manner, I couldn't prevent the family trait from rearing its ugly head. As I opened my mouth to hurl a few insults at the prick in front of me, I heard someone clear their throats rather loudly.

Malfoy and I whipped out heads around to see Molly and Emmanuel standing in the doorway to Great Hall. Emmanuel looked as if he was about to burst out into hysterics, and Molly looked rather appalled. A blush began to creep up my neck, and towards my face at the realization that someone else had witnessed my little outburst.

Deciding that it would be best to just get away from Malfoy, I shoved the chair I had been sitting closer to the staff table. "See you at four." I snapped at Malfoy before the two of us turned around and headed our separate ways.

Still fuming, I stalked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down with my back to the Slytherin table. I was sure that at this point, even seeing Malfoy's face would cause several vulgar words to come out of my mouth. With a huff, I pulled a book out of my bag to preoccupy myself until some of the other Gryffindors came downstairs. This inter-house competition business was going to end in utter disaster. I could feel it.


	4. shock and awe

One of the good things about having finally reached my seventh year was the perks that it afforded my schedule. It was currently two thirty in the afternoon and I was lying on the couch in the Gryffindor common room merely staring up at the ceiling. I had only had two classes today, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions. As it was the first day back, neither had been particularly challenging and neither Professor had assigned much homework. So now I had an hour and a half before Malfoy and I were to hold tryouts for our inter-house Quidditch team. After my meeting with Malfoy, I had posted the announcement in the common room and had then quickly ducked out in order to avoid being harassed by any one of the other six members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The only reason I was even in the common room at the moment was because I was fairly certain all of the other members of the Quidditch team were either in class or devouring their weight in food from the Great Hall. One should never underestimate the amount of food a Quidditch player could devour. That was especially true if that Quidditch player was in any way a member of the Weasley clan. As I gazed up at the ceiling and tilted my head from side to side, I tried to predict how the tryouts were going to turn out. For one, I was not looking forward to the possibility of loosing my position as seeker to Malfoy. However, I was more concerned with what was going to happen with my team. Malfoy had a good roster this year. In fact, he had a very good roster, and I knew very well that a few of my guys would be cut. My biggest concern was over how Albus would take it. If Lily didn't make it, which could very well happen considering she was younger and more inexperienced, she would be ticked but would eventually get over it. Albus, well, he had the capability of sulking for weeks, months even. Pursing my lips, I contemplated ways in which I could ensure Albus' position on the team. Nothing came to mind and I let out a frustrated sigh.

As I let my mind wander, I heard the portrait of the fat lady swing open and footsteps making their way into the room.

"Rose?"

Arching a brow, I glanced up to notice that the inquisitive voice belonged to none other than Frank Longbottom. "Hey Frank, what are you doing up here?" I questioned, sitting up so that Frank had room on the same couch.

"Done with classes for the day. Though, I could ask you the same thing Miss Weasley. Shouldn't you be in the library taking notes on some chapter in some book due for some assignment three months from now?" He retorted, smirking as he sat down next to me.

A smile crossed my face and a small laugh escaped my lips, "Should be, but I have other things on my mind at the moment." In order to make clear what I was referring to, I nodded over to the Quidditch announcement on the other side of the room.

"Ah, I see." Frank nodded his head, running a hand through his thick, black hair. "All I can say is that I am quite glad that you're handling this part of the first challenge." Patting my arm, Frank gave me a sympathetic look. "How's that going anyway?" He questioned, arching a brow.

A sigh escaped me and I looked at Frank with my lips pressed thinly together.

"That well, huh?" Frank laughed heartily, shaking his head as he ruffled my hair. "Look Rosie, watching you verbally chew Malfoy out is one of my favorite activities but you just give him too much to work with."

Frowning, I tilted my head to the side to indicate to Frank that I wasn't sure what he meant. In all of my interactions with Malfoy I always tried to one-up him, to back him into a corner so that he was very limited in the replies he could give me. It seemed, to me at least, that I was giving Malfoy very little to work with.

"Don't get me wrong, you give the bloke a run for his money when it comes to retorts but you let him rile you up far too often. Yes, you press his buttons too, but he's always able to control his temper better than you can and in the end, you're the one who winds up snapping and yelling at him."

Almost immediately, I opened my mouth in order to refute what Frank had just said. Frank gave me a pointed look and I scowled, contemplating what he had just said. Within a few minutes I was forced to acknowledge that he was right. Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "You win." I muttered.

Frank merely laughed at me. "I should get that in writing." He laughed once more. "But really, you do really well for a while, giving him just what he deserves. Then, he says something that touches a nerve and you go off on him. That's just what he wants. You play right into his hand Rosie."

I wrinkled my nose at the thought that all this time I had merely been a pawn in Malfoy's little mental game. "Now tell me, how are you so knowledgeable about the inner workings of the scoundrels mind?" I questioned, arching a brow.

"I'm really not all that knowledgeable." Frank shrugged his shoulders, "But since he leaves me alone for the most part, I've been able to notice a few things whenever he starts to get into a spat with you. Like that ridiculous self-satisfied sneer he gets whenever he gets you to start yelling." Having instilled that piece of wisdom, Frank stood up and stretched out his long arms. "All that advice giving has worn me out. I think I'll go take a nap. Let me know how the Quidditch business goes and if there's anything I can do to help. After my nap of course." With those words, and with a chuckle, Frank turned around and waltzed off towards his room.

A smile danced across my lips and I shook my head lightly as I watched Frank walk away. I had known Frank for as long as I could remember and he never ceased to amaze me with his tidbits of wisdom. The boy was far more perceptive, and far more intelligent than a lot of people gave him credit for. With Franks words mulling around in my brain I began to lie back down onto the couch. However, my attention was captured by the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. To my dismay, I noticed that it was already twenty minutes past three. With the Quidditch tryouts a mere forty minutes away I realized I had to get a move on. Springing up from my seat, I dashed up to my dormitory and began to change out of my school uniform, and into the Quidditch uniform.

At ten minutes to four I walked out of the Hogwarts castle and made my way towards the Quidditch pitch. Unfortunately, I had yet to come up with a way to ensure Albus' position on the new team. Sighing, I decided that I would just attempt to broach the subject with Malfoy and see what his reaction was. I would have to go from there. As I walked onto the pitch, I noticed that Malfoy was already down there, broom in hand.

"You're late." He sneered as I approached him.

Arching a brow, I blinked at him a few times. "Malfoy, I still have eight minutes."

"Well, seeing as how we're the ones holding this business, it's expected of us to be early." He replied quickly. Narrowing my eyes. I took a deep breath, remembering Franks words. I was going to make an attempt to control my temper.

"Whatever." I hissed. Upon noticing that people were starting to make their way down from the castle I took a spot next to Malfoy. "Albus needs to be on the team." I stated while keeping my gaze straight on. I heard a scoff escape Malfoy's lips but I continued to look straight ahead.

"We agreed to tryouts for everyone or do you not remember Weasley? Potter does not get special treatment because he's Harry Potters son or because he's your favorite cousin or whatnot."

Malfoy's tone of voice was more of a hiss than of anything else and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "If you give me Albus, I'll give you one person on the team as well." I replied trying to come up with some sort of compromise on the spot. There had to be one person on the Slytherin Quidditch team that Malfoy wanted to be sure about.

"No."

Guess not.

With that, Malfoy turned away from me. The overwhelming urge to smack him came over me and I gripped by broomstick until my knuckles became white. "You know what Malfoy-" I started, the volume of my voice rising with each word that escaped my lips.

"What Weasley?" Malfoy questioned, arching a brow as he sneered at me.

Taking a deep breath, I narrowed my eyes at him before looking away. "Nothing." I replied. I was not going to yell at him. I was not going to yell at him. Whilst taking a deep breath I continued to repeat that mantra in my mind. As I heard Malfoy snickering I realized I was going to need to call upon every ounce of patience in my body to not snap at him. By this time, all of the members of both the Slytherin and the Gryffindor Quidditch teams had arrived. The Gryffindor team was standing by my right while the Slytherins all stood to Malfoy's left. Clearly, we were all dying to cooperate with one another.

"I'll tell you what Weasley, I'll let you have Potter as one of the beaters under one condition." Malfoy whispered to me. A look of shock washed over my face and I turned to face him. "What is it?" I questioned. I was genuinely shocked that he would even utter those words.

A huge smirk came over Malfoy's face and he laughed before speaking. "I'll give you Potter if you forfeit the seeker position and become a chaser."

My jaw dropped and I looked at him for a moment. He wanted me to just hand him the seeker position? First of all, I was not willing to hand over seeker without a fight. Secondly, how would that look? People might think that I truly believed Malfoy to be a better seeker. Either that or they would think that he had worn me down through arguing with me. I honestly did not want people to accept either possibility. From the look on Malfoy's face he had figured that I wouldn't be too happy with the prospect.

"I guess you don't like my offer Weasley. That's too bad." Malfoy made a move to walk over to his team.

"Fine." I blurted out.

Malfoy stopped in his tracks and looked at me, arching a brow. "What did you say?" He questioned.

"Fine, I said fine. If I can have Albus as one of the beaters, I'll be a chaser and you can get the seeker position." I winced as I finished my sentence.

The look on Malfoy's face was one of pure surprise. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting me to accept his offer. "You sure Weasley?" He questioned, raising both eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure." I replied coolly. I was not happy about handing Malfoy the seeker position but if that was the only way to ensure that Albus was going to make the team, then I was willing to do it. Albus was a fantastic beater but the two Slytherin beaters were large, burly, and could probably hit a bit harder than Albus could. However, I knew very well that Albus would feel betrayed if he were cut from the team and that was far more important to me than being seeker for this one Quidditch match. Besides, the look of shock on Malfoy's face was quite satisfying. He looked a bit like a fish that had been taken out of the water and was trying to get some oxygen in its body.

"Stop gaping Malfoy, it is largely unattractive. Let's just get the rest of this over with." I added before turning on my heel and walking over to the Gryffindor Quidditch team in order to explain how the process was going to work. For once I had caught Malfoy off guard and I quite liked it. Perhaps Frank really was onto something.


	5. all riled up

**A/N: So this authors note should have been in the last chapter but I kind of got sidetracked and forgot, sorry! Anyway, I just lost my desire to write this story and then out of nowhere I wanted to start again so I did, haha. Anyway, I hope the chapters are up to par and if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Thanks to those of you who added this to your favorite stories/alerts list!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Rose or Scorpius unfortunately.**

"You know, I'm pretty excited for the upcoming match. I mean, I'm not as riled up as I was before the cup match last year, but last year we were playing against Slytherin, not playing with them. There's just something different about saying, lets go beat those slimy Slytherins as opposed to saying lets go beat those witty Ravenclaws and hard-working Hufflepuffs. Don't you agree Rosie?" Albus rambled.

Malfoy and I had just finished announcing our final decisions for the inter-house Quidditch team and Albus and I were currently heading back up to the castle. We had decided, yes together shockingly enough, that announcing the new team right after try-outs was the best way to go. After all, neither of us wanted to leave our respective teams in suspense. Albus was quite clearly enthused at having kept his position on the team. "Yeah, sure." I replied, nodding my head so that Albus would think that I was genuinely paying attention. Really, I was going over the roster in my head.

"Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs is just too long to say. We need to combine the two words together. How about Ravenpuffs? Or Huffleclaws? Which one do you like better Rosie? Ravenpuffs, Huffleclaws, Ravenpuffs..."

As we began to walk up the stairs I started to tune Albus out, what name we gave our opponents was on the bottom of my priority list at the moment. Malfoy was the seeker and Albus had retained one of the beater positions as per our agreement (much to the dismay of the other Slytherin beater). The other beater position had gone to Robert Nott, the Keeper position had gone to Frederick Finnigan, a Gryffindor, while the remaining two chaser positions had been filled by Slytherins, Charles Flint and Amelia Avery. Lily had been given the honor of being our only reserve chaser. The girl was good, despite the fact that I had to brow beat Malfoy into admitting it.

"Rosie, are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" Albus questioned. By now we had reached the seventh floor and were making our way towards the common room entrance. After his second repetition of the word Ravenpuff I had completely blocked him out and consequently had no idea what he had said since then. "Honestly, Albus? No." I replied.

Albus looked at me and rolled his eyes, shaking his head so that his messy black hair fell into his face. Wrinkling his nose at me, Albus walked ahead, gave the fat lady the password and stepped into the common room. I merely followed behind him. "No worries Rosie, I forgive you!" He exclaimed all of a sudden, throwing an arm around me. Arching a brow, I glanced at him curiously.

"I wasn't aware of the fact that I needed to be forgiven for anything."

Albus made an effort to give me a pointed look. "I don't take lightly to being ignored Rosie, especially by you. But, you're you, so I'll forgive you."

"Right, thanks." I replied, refraining from pointing out to Albus the logical problem with his previous statement.

"Besides, we have much more important issues to discuss."

"Oh do we?" I questioned Albus as I stopped in my tracks. My intended destination was the girl's shower room. After being out on the pitch for two hours I just wanted to get clean. While it was true that I hadn't had to try out for my position, Malfoy and I had, had to break up a number of tiffs between the various Quidditch team members, resulting in the two of us having been knocked down to the ground a few times. On top of that, being around Malfoy for two consecutive hours had made be feel grimy. I knew it was absolutely ludicrous but somehow I felt that his slimy behavior would rub off on me if I didn't get clean quickly.

"Yes, yes we do Rosie. Now come over here and sit down." Albus patted the seat on the couch next to him and grinned at me foolishly. Sighing, I shook my head and dragged myself over to the couch. "Only for you Albus, only for you." I mumbled, sitting down next to my cousin.

"Oh, I know. That's why I take advantage of it." Albus replied, giving me a cheeky smile before he ruffled my hair much like Frank had a few hours ago. I frowned, patting my hair down as I wondered what their motivation for doing so was. I wasn't a puppy, or a small child, and therefore did not enjoy being patted over the head. However, I did not even mention it to Albus knowing that it would only drag this conversation out even longer.

"Alright Albus dear, you've got my attention. What would you like to discuss?" I questioned, peering up at him. Even though Albus was a few months younger than I was, and even though sometimes he acted years younger than I was, he was several inches taller than I was and even when we sat down I would have to tilt my chin up to look at him.

"Why the bloody hell is Malfoy seeker? Rosie, you didn't even fight for it like the rest of us! You're just as good as he is. Hell, you're better." By this point, the childish look on Albus' face was gone and he was looking at me quite sternly. For a moment I regretted all the times I had told Albus to be more serious. Clearly, I hadn't anticipated that he would choose me as the first person to test out his newfound mature attitude on.

Despite myself, I groaned. "It was just easier that way Albus, trust me." I couldn't outright tell Albus that I had done it for his benefit, so I was trying to be as honest with him as possible.

"Easier that way?" Albus questioned, frowning at me. "Rose, when we were taking our O. you decided that for the practical part of our Defense exam you wanted to perform a bunch of spells from the sixth year material. You've never done something just because it's easier."

Pursing my lips, I sighed. I needed to find a shiny object to distract Albus with for he was making it difficult for me to keep my secret. "It just wasn't worth arguing with him over Albus, really. I want us to win the match next week and butting heads with Malfoy wasn't going to help. So, I decided to be the bigger person and let it go." With that, I shrugged my shoulders and stood up. Smirking, I ruffled Albus' hair to get back at him. "I'll see you later. Start thinking of names for our new team!" I called as I headed towards the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory. As I bounded up the stairs I could hear Albus trying to combine the words Slytherin and Gryffindor. A laugh escaped me as I shook my head. Despite his newfound mature attitude Albus was as easily distracted as ever.

"Manh, Manoholo B…"

"Manolo Blahnik Albus, Manolo Blahnik. What on earth are you doing trying to sound out the names of women's shoe designers anyway?" I questioned, looking up from my Transfiguration book. I glanced over the large library table to see what exactly Albus was reading off of. I could see that he was reading off some pieces of parchment but for the life of me I couldn't make out any of the words on the page. Albus' handwriting hadn't evolved much since our toddler years.

"Muggle studies." He mumbled, "I needed one more elective." A disgusted look crossed my cousins' face as he flipped through his notes. Albus already knew what he wanted to do with his life and that was to work with the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Albus didn't see why he should have to take any classes that didn't relate to his future career goals.

Laughed, I shook my head. "And why exactly does the Professor has you learning about expensive women's shoes?" I questioned, my interest mildly piqued by the strange teaching habits.

"Something about learning the more day to day details of muggle life. Or something."

I laughed at Albus once more before returning to my book. It was only our first day back and Albus and I had already fallen into our normal routine. Ever since the start of our first year, Albus and I had gotten into the habit of studying together right after dinner. I liked a bit of companionship while studying and Albus needed someone to keep him at least somewhat focused. All in all it was a good system. The sound of Albus' quill scratching against his parchment soon became a comforting background noise as I settled into my book. Time passed and soon the library began to fill up with the usual rush of people who realized that it was getting quite late and they still had quite a lot of homework to get through. For the most part I did rather well in ignoring the footsteps and the voices around me. However, I found it impossible to ignore whoever was standing right by my desk, blocking my reading light.

Arching a brow I looked up only to notice Frank Longbottom smirking down at me. Right behind him stood Serena Abercrombie, a sixth year Gryffindor I knew from small talk exchanged in the common room. "Hey guys." I greeted watching as Serena slipped into the seat next to Albus.

"First day back and your nose is already buried in a book. Typical." Frank remarked as he walked around the table to take the seat next to me.

"Yes well, with all of the new things going on this year I figured the Hogwarts population needed some sense of normalcy and so, I decided to take it upon myself to restore that feeling." I placed a hand over my heart for effect.

"Ah, I see." Frank replied, the corners of his lips twitching upwards as he nodded his head. "Ever the philanthropist Rose Weasley, ever the philanthropist. We would all be lost without you."

"Oh you know it Longbottom." I threw a wink at Frank.

Frank and I merely smiled at each other before I returned to my work and he pulled out his own books. As I tried to find my place I noticed that something was off. Albus' quill was no longer scratching against his parchment, thus no longer providing the pleasant background noise. Arching a brow I glanced up from my book to see Albus looking at both Frank and I.

"Something wrong Albus?" I asked, looking around in a confused manner.

"Did you hear Frank?" He blurted out.

"Hear what?" Frank questioned, looking at me as if I knew what Albus was talking about.

"Did you hear that Rosie gave Malfoy the seeker position?" He questioned, shifting his gaze over from Frank and onto me in an accusatory manner.

"Albus Severus, not this again!" I exclaimed. Albus narrowed his eyes at me for having used his middle name. Albus had nothing against his middle name per se; it was merely that he knew I only used it when I was genuinely frustrated with him.

"You did what Rose?" Frank questioned, turning to look at me.

"Yes, yes, it's true. I let Malfoy be the seeker for the new team and I took a chaser position. There we go, it's out in the open. Shall we dissect the matter further? I'll convene a jury and all if you'd like. Maybe we should even call over some of the Ravenclaws over there in the corner and hear their opinions on the matter" Raising both eyebrows I looked at both Albus and Frank, waiting for their responses. Serena seemed to be enjoying the odd banter and was keeping silent, so I left her out of it.

"Unexpected." Frank said, smiling as he nodded his head.

"That's all you have to say?" Albus asked, an incredulous tone in his voice. Franks gaze shifted from my face over to Albus. "Yes. Unexpected." He repeated, glancing at me with a smile on his face. He looked at me for a few minutes as realization washed over me. Frank thought that I had given Malfoy the seeker position purely to throw him off balance, to stop giving him material to work with. While Malfoy's shock had been an unplanned benefit of my actions, I was more than content to let Frank think they had been my primary motivation.

"Yes, unexpected." I replied, nodding my head. With that, Frank nodded his head and, seemingly satisfied, he returned to his work.

"What's going on? Why is it that I'm the only one mad about this?" Albus questioned. Sighing, I rolled my eyes, "Because you're the only one silly enough to care my dear. Just get over it Albus. Seriously, if I hear you complain about it one more time I'll write Aunt Ginny about those midnight escapades you took to the Ravenclaw dorms at the end of last year."

Instantly, the color drained from Albus' face and he gaped at me. Clearly he had thought that he had been quite slick towards the end of our sixth year. With a smirk I added a bit of information to let him know I was serious, "Honestly Albus, if you're going to try and fool around with girls from other houses try not to do it while I'm out on my rounds." Taking one last look at Albus' shocked expression I returned to my work. For a few moments the only other noise I could hear was that of Frank rifling through his class notes. However, after a few moments, Albus resumed his writing and I smiled at the sound of his quill scratching against his parchment.

About an hour later, all four of us announced that we had finished our work and the decision was made to head back up to the Gryffindor common room. After all, who knew what shenanigans the rest of our housemates had planned in order to relieve the "stress" caused by our first day of classes.

Frank and I walked ahead of Albus and Serena and from behind us I could hear Albus rambling on and on to her about how utterly difficult it had been to put up with the Slytherin Quidditch team this past afternoon. Despite myself I couldn't help but roll my eyes. While it hadn't been fun dealing with seven cranky Slytherins, the truth of the matter was that Albus had been a bit of an instigator himself. Though he would be offended if I ever made the comparison, Albus was filling James' shoes quite well.

"So, now that you and Malfoy got a team together, what can I do? I feel a bit useless you know." Frank grinned down at me.

"Something to do? What, you mean besides instilling small tidbits of wisdom at unexpected times?" I retorted.

A laugh escaped Frank as he nodded, "Yes, something besides being a paragon of wisdom."

"Well, if we're going to have any hope of winning this match we need the two houses behind us. We can't play Quidditch properly if we're all constantly trying to rip each other's throats out. You think you could do something about that?"

Frank raised both brows and looked down at me over his nose, "You want me to be in charge of some sort of team bonding business?" Frank asked, "Right, sure, give me the hard job." With that, Frank stuck his tongue out at me as we started to head up the stairs towards the seventh floor.

Laughing, I shook my head and gave Frank a playful slap over the arm. "Get that girl, what's her face, the other seventh year Slytherin prefect to help you."

"Adeline Crowley." Frank filled in for me.

"Yeah, whatever." I muttered with a wave of my hand. With a roll of his eyes Frank reached his arm up and ruffled my hair. Scrunching up my nose, I turned my head to give Frank a shove when my gaze fell upon someone I would have actually liked to shove right down the stairs, or into the black lake for that matter. Whichever would cause more physical harm.

"Malfoy." I stated as Frank and I stopped in our tracks. From behind me I heard Albus and Serena stop walking as well.

Malfoy arched both brows at me, "Weasley. It pains me to say this but I was actually looking for you."

"Oh?" I questioned, placing a hand at the base of my neck to make it appear as if I was flattered. "Well, that's really quite nice. You have a gift for me or something Malfoy?" I stood on my tiptoes as if I was trying to peer behind him. "I don't see a bouquet a flowers or a box of chocolates. Really, you should have gotten me some flowers for having to put up with your insufferable ass for two hours." My tone turned from sickly sweet to caustic within seconds.

Malfoy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose you thought that to be clever Weasley."

"Honestly, yes. What, you didn't Malfoy? That's a pity, I wasn't aware you didn't have a sense of humor." I tilted my head to the side, feigning a look of sorrow.

Malfoy pursed his lips, crossing his arms over his chest. As he looked down at me over his nose I could tell he was displeased. His cheeks had gained a bit of color serving as a stark contrast to his usually pale features. I could see him clenching his jaw, further accentuating his high cheekbones and his strong jaw line. I desperately wanted to say something about his appearance at the moment but I couldn't come up with anything. Despite all the quips I had made in the past about his dislike for sunlight, there was no denying that Malfoy had definitely inherited a number of good genes from his mother and father. He was a good-looking young man despite his disgusting personality.

"Weasley I do have a sense of humor, that's exactly why I don't find you the least bit funny. You could bore a hyena to death. However, I was not looking for you to tell you how very not funny you are." Malfoy's lips pulled back into a sneer as he let his arms fall to his side. He then placed his right hand into his trouser pocket.

"Very well Malfoy, I'll bite. Why were you looking for me?"

"We need to set up some Quidditch practice times." He stated, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He glanced down at the floor for a few moments, a few strands of blond hair falling into his face. As he looked back up he flipped his hair out of his face. "We also need to come up with some strategies for the match. I think things would fair better for us if I just did all the planning but I think your hotheaded teammates are too stupid to see the benefits that, that would afford us." A lop-sided smirk instantly overtook Malfoy's face.

"Oh we're the stupid ones are we Malfoy?" Albus piped up from behind me. I turned around to see him glaring daggers at the young Slytherin. Lifting a hand I indicated to Albus that it would be better if he shut up.

Malfoy frowned lightly and looked over my shoulder at Albus as if his interest had been mildly piqued. "Well, yes. But you seem to be particularly dumb Potter. At least your cousin here has enough sense to know when I'm right and when she should therefore refrain from arguing with me."

I glowered at Malfoy, "Let's get back to talking about Quidditch Malfoy for we both know if we start discussing intelligence levels you'll be the one coming out on bottom. Now, I think we should come up with some game strategies before we hold any practices. If we try to hold a general practice without any objectives we both know that our teams are going to try and kill each other."

"That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say Weasley." Malfoy said, nodding his head. I waited for some snarky retort to follow, but it never did. Inwardly, I had to admit that I was rather impressed that he had managed to say something even remotely civil. "Do you want to meet and draw up some game strategies tomorrow morning before classes?" He questioned me.

"That sounds fine. We could then hold a practice tomorrow evening after dinner."

"Good." He replied, nodding his head. "Tomorrow at seven?"

I arched a brow remembering how vehemently Malfoy had complained when I had made him meet me at seven this morning. "What, not too early for you?" I questioned.

Malfoy chuckled, "It is but I figure that my stomach won't be able to handle the site of your ugly face right after breakfast."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "Good save Malfoy, good save." I whispered. Malfoy scoffed and turned on his heel, leaving me nothing to look at but his retreating form.

"See, you have the easy job!" Frank exclaimed once Malfoy was out of site. I laughed and shook my head, following him the rest of the way up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room.


	6. to be feared or to be loved

**A/N: Hello! I want to say thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and of course, to those of you who added this story to your alerts list and to your favorites list. I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story and your support is awesome! I'm a little more motivated to write every time I see that someone has added this to a list or reviewed. So, thank you! So yes, here is another chapter! I hope you all like it and if you have any suggestions, any at all, don't hesitate to let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I'm a broke college student so yeah... I don't own Harry, Rose, Scorpius or Hogwarts. **

So this is what mud tasted like.

Quickly, I lifted my head up and spit out the mud that had managed to get into my mouth. Angrily, I raised myself up off of the ground and wiped my face with my right hand. Still trying to clear my mouth of the disgusting taste I grabbed my broom off of the ground with my left hand and stalked off to the sidelines of the pitch where Malfoy was standing laughing like a deranged hyena. Giving him my best death glare I stalked past him and to the bench where I had left my wand. With a quick flick of my wand I cleared my mouth, face and hair of mud. My uniform would have to wait till later.

Turning to face Malfoy, I stared at him for a few moments. For the past five days I had worked hard to reign in my temper and I had been doing quite well. After all, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had riled me up. However, at this moment, I was far beyond caring about Frank's advice to do the unexpected. This situation warranted a bit of a tantrum. "You have got to get those two under control!" I snapped as I pointed over to Charles Flint and Amelia Avery, the other two chasers on the team. I glanced over to see the two of them chuckling to themselves. I glared at them from across the pitch before tightening my grip on my wand. This was our second to last practice before the big match against the Ravenpuffs (Albus had decided that this sounded better than Huffleclaws) and Flint and Avery were still trying to kill me every chance they got.

"The rest of them seem to be able to at least tolerate each other enough to get through practices but apparently those two have their heads so far up their asses that they can't see that this all for their benefit as well." By this point I was yelling. My dark blue eyes were narrowed at Malfoy and I looked right at him, watching his face slowly contort into a smug smirk.

"Well, maybe you just can't keep up with them." He sneered before leaning forward, "After all, you are new to this whole chaser business." He whispered, as if he was letting me in on some big secret. There he went again, keeping his cool while I was beyond flustered.

I growled at Malfoy and even he seemed to be startled by the ferocity with which I did it. "You know very well that I am every bit as good of a chaser as those two blundering idiots." I hissed before turning on my heel and walking back over to the pitch. I looked up; narrowing my eyes at both Charles and Amelia as I mounted my broom and kicked up, back into the air. Despite the fact that our match was on Saturday, two days from now, Charles and Amelia couldn't muster up enough decency to cooperate with me. As if that wasn't bad enough, they tried to knock me off my broom every chance they got. It was kind of funny really, if you thought about it, for I had thought the Slytherin beater, Robert Nott, was the one who was going to spend his time trying to knock me off my broom. However, he and Albus had come to some sort of understanding and were now working quite well together. Okay, so maybe it was more sad than funny. Secretly I believed that Albus had bribed Robert with pastries. No, I was the one having problems getting along with my teammates and it bothered me to no end.

Noticing that I was back in the air, Frederick released the quaffle, putting it back into play. Just like Frederick had intended, the quaffle sailed into my arms and I quickly took off with it only to notice a bludger headed my way. Glancing around, I noticed Amelia off to my right so I tossed the quaffle over to her before diving down to avoid being hit. Once the bludger had passed I pulled back up to my previous altitude and looked around to spot Charles and Amelia passing the bludger back and forth between themselves. Leaning forward, I sped up ahead of them and took a position in front of the keeper goals. Soon enough they had managed to come within a few feet of me and I motioned to Amelia to pass me the quaffle because I was in a better position to score than either her or Charles. Rather than merely throwing me the large red ball, Amelia flew over in my direction and threw the quaffle to my right, a bit above my shoulder. Instinctively, I reached up to grab it, causing my position on my broom to become very precarious. I was so focused on catching the quaffle that I didn't even notice Charles come up behind me, grab the quaffle and give me a good shove as he flew past me. I slipped off my broom and made a move to grab the handle but I was too late and I came crashing to the ground. This time however, I was fortunate enough to land on my back instead of right on my face. I was used to having to my opponents trying to knock me off my broom but it was altogether different when your own teammates were trying to break your neck.

Wincing, I sat up and turned my head to look at Malfoy. I narrowed my eyes at him but much to my surprise I saw him glowering not at me, but up at Charles and Amelia. As I stood up and grabbed my broom, I saw him stalk over to the pitch.

"Flint, Avery, get down here!" Malfoy bellowed. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes but quickly looked away, turning his attention back to the descending chasers. As Charles and Amelia made their way over to where Malfoy was standing he turned around and motioned for them to follow him. Arching a brow, I watched as Malfoy began to talk to Charles and Amelia. He wasn't speaking loudly enough for me to hear what he was saying but I could tell he was angry. Malfoy had his lips pressed thinly together and he was using the glare he usually reserved especially for me. Malfoy was rather animated in his speech and I couldn't help but smirk at the shocked expressions that both Charles and Amelia were wearing on their faces. Clearly they were not used to being berated by their fearless leader. A few seconds later, Malfoy waved his hand, dismissing both chasers. Pursing my lips, I shifted my gaze to the ground as Charles and Amelia walked towards me. As they walked past me I pursed my lips further, using all of my willpower to stifle my laughter. I was so busy averting my gaze and trying not to laugh that I didn't notice Malfoy walking towards me until he was standing right next to me.

"What, not going to thank me?" Malfoy questioned, the tone in his voice was one of feigned confusion. He turned his head to look at me and so I reciprocated. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he was gripping his broom in his left hand, the handle cradled in the crook of his arms.

I turned my head to look at him and opened my mouth to thank him. Perhaps Malfoy could be trained the way one trained a dog – ignore him when he did something bad, and reward him when he did something good. However, the moment I saw the expectant look on his face I changed my mind. He was clearly worse than a dog. After all, most dogs were cute and lovable. "Thank you for what Malfoy? Finally doing what a _co_-captain should do?" I leaned forward, "I don't think so." I whispered, mimicking his earlier behavior. I sneered at him before turning to walk back onto the pitch. I had purposely emphasized the word co so he wouldn't get any ideas about who was really in charge on this team.

"I suppose you were never taught how to behave like a lady Weasley!" He called after me.

Rolling my eyes, I turned around to face him, slowly walking backwards. "Fine, thanks Malfoy." I yelled back at him. Perhaps that would get him to shut up.

"Whatever Weasley, it's not like I did it for you. I did it so we could win the match." He called, smirking broadly. Yeah, guess not.

I stopped in my tracks and lowered my chin, looking at him with a blank expression on my face. Shaking my head I turned on my heel and walked back onto the pitch.

The remaining two hours of practice went quite well, much to my great surprise. After Malfoy had berated Charles and Amelia the two chasers had been quick to cooperate with me. By the end of practice the three of us had become quite in tune with each other and we had come up with a number of very successful plays. Though, that didn't mean that they liked me any better for it. In fact, I was pretty sure they hated me even more now. No matter, as long as they passed me the quaffle and didn't try to kill me they could shoot me as many glares as they wanted. The whole team touched down onto the pitch and Malfoy and I found our way over to stand next to each other in front of the rest of the team.

"Good practice everyone!" I exclaimed, smiling. My uniform was still caked in mud; I was tired, and frankly a bit cranky. However, I always ended my practices with a bit of encouragement and I didn't see why this one should be any different. "We have one more practice before the big match, so make sure to get to the pitch on time tomorrow, five p.m. sharp. We'll just be ironing some things out but if I think we've got a pretty good chance at winning the match on Saturday." I smiled and looked out at the team. Only Albus, Frederick and Lily were smiling back at me. Robert Nott had a small grin on his face but I wasn't sure if he even understood the words coming out of my mouth. Charles and Amelia, well, they were doing their best to look as disinterested as possible. "Right, well –", I began, getting ready to dismiss the team.

"Despite what Weasley said, don't get too comfortable or too content with your skills." Malfoy piped up, interrupting me. I arched a brow and looked at him. He was holding his broom in his right hand and leaning against it. He had a very serious expression on his face, and for once, he wasn't sneering or smirking. "Each and every one of you still has some major flaws within your game that will cost us the game if you don't fix them by Saturday." Malfoy snapped, running his eyes over each and every one of the players standing in front of us as if he was sizing them up.

I raised both my brows and turned my head to look at Malfoy. What on earth was he doing? Two days before the match and he was cutting the team down?

"You all need to think about what's wrong with your game and come to practice prepared to fix it. If you don't, you'll be cut from the team. I'm sure Weasley and I can find more competent people to replace you lot." Malfoy paused, letting his words sink in. "You're dismissed." He muttered, waving his hand.

Slowly, the team began to disperse. I saw Albus look at me but I stayed behind and motioned for him to go ahead. Turning my head I watched Malfoy as he began to gather up his things. Once the rest of the team was out of sight, I walked over to where he was standing. "Malfoy, what the hell was that?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What are you talking about Weasley?" Malfoy questioned as if he was genuinely confused. He glanced up at me for a moment before going back to packing his bag.

I rolled my eyes. Malfoy was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them. He knew what I was referring to. "_That_ Malfoy, what you just said to the team." I clarified so that he didn't have any excuse not to answer me.

Malfoy sighed and picked his duffel bag up, swinging it over his shoulder. He was finally looking at me and the expression he wore on his face was one of annoyance. That was really too bad for him though because I wasn't going to just drop the subject. "What about it Weasley?" He questioned, starting his trek back towards the castle.

A sigh of frustration escaped my lips and I rolled my eyes at his retreating from. Quickly, I grabbed my bag and my broom and jogged to catch up to him. With his height Malfoy was able to take longer strides than I.

"Two days before the match and you're just going to cut them down like that? How do expect them to be confident in the game?" I asked when I had finally caught up to him. As I walked I turned my head so I could look at Malfoy. His expression was stoic and he didn't even bother to face me. Rather, Malfoy just looked straight ahead and continued walking towards the Hogwarts castle.

"They don't deserve to be confident in their games." Malfoy hissed, glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Especially not now. They need to be on their toes, they need to fix their mistakes before the match."

"Yeah, maybe there are a few things they could tighten up but you know very well that there aren't any major flaws with any of them. Malfoy, we've got a hell of a good team and I don't see why you felt the need to go and make them feel unsure of themselves. We don't want them second guessing themselves on the pitch." Much to my own surprise my voice was steady and relatively calm. For once I wasn't sneering or yelling at Scorpius Malfoy. He however, had other ideas about how this conversation was going to go.

A frustrated growl left his lips and he stopped in his tracks. His sudden stop took me by surprise and by the time I stopped I was already a few steps ahead of him. Turning my body so my back was to the castle, I faced him, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Merlin Weasley!" Malfoy exclaimed, his eyes widening at me. "What the bloody hell are you, some sort of life coach?" He questioned, his voice rising. He wasn't yelling at me but the volume of his voice was above that of a normal conversation. I could see a bit of color creeping up into his face in anger.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes at him.

"You heard me Weasley, don't play dumb. Is this how you lead your team during the regular season? Coddling them, holding their hands and telling them what a great job they're doing, even if they're planning like shit?" Malfoy furrowed his brows at me, his eyes on mine as if hew as daring me to contradict him.

"I don't coddle them Malfoy." I replied, my tone of voice was bitter but I refused to yell at him. "Rather, I tell them when they need to fix something specific, and then I give them the encouragement they need to boost their confidence. I need them to be confident when they go out on the pitch. So yes, that's how I lead my team Malfoy and it's worked quite well for us."

Malfoy scoffed and shook his head, "You're coddling them Weasley!" He explained, pointing a finger at me. "And fine, I won't begrudge you an admission of the fact that the Gryffindor team has been pretty successful these past couple of years. However, if you led like I led, you would have done even better."

I arched a brow. Had Malfoy just admitted something remotely positive about Gryffindor? Though I was surprised those words had left his lips I wasn't going to dwell on it. "Led like you led?" I questioned. I let out a sarcastic laugh. "You mean if I made shit up to scare my teammates?"

"Witty Weasley, really, but no." Malfoy snapped. "You're right, there's no major mistakes within any of their games but you said it yourself that there are some flaws. Those flaws could very well cost us the game Weasley. We aren't a normal team, I'm sure you've noticed that by now. Those self-righteous Ravenclaws aren't having any problems getting along with those blundering Hufflepuffs. Our team however, well, you don't even want to know what I had to say to Flint and Avery to get them to stop messing around. They're my housemates and you're not, so why did I do it?" Malfoy paused, almost as if he wanted me to answer the question. His brows were furrowed and he tilted his head to the right a bit before continuing, "Because I want to win. Those tiny flaws could cause our whole game strategy to collapse and I just won't have it." Malfoy stopped, taking in a breath. I had never seen him so worked up and so adamant about anything before. His face was flushed, his blond hair was falling into his grey eyes and he was looking at me intently. He hadn't been yelling during his monologue but he looked like he had been.

"So your solution is to scare them?" I questioned, not skipping a beat. "I bet your regular team is quite frightened by you. Sure, fear can be a good motivation but so can admiration and respect."

"Fear is the best motivation Weasley." Malfoy replied. The color was leaving his face and he was resuming his stoic expression. "Fear also breeds respect. I have friends on the Slytherin team but before a match I'm more their captain then their friend. If they think there's any chance that I'm going to cut them from the team, they're going to work harder than if they simply like me. You'd never cut anyone from the team, especially since you've got a few of your grimy relatives on it. They may want to do well for you but they can't even imagine being cut if they do something wrong."

I frowned. In a sense, Malfoy was right. I couldn't imagine cutting either Albus or Lily, ever. A smug smirk found it's way onto Malfoy's face and I could tell he thought he had stumped me. In a sense he had, but I wasn't about to let him in on that. "Malfoy, you can't go around treating your friends like that." I replied. "Let's ignore the fact that I don't buy your" I contorted my face and mimicked Malfoy's voice for a moment "'fear is the best motivation'" with that, I resumed my normal, sharp, tone "crap, but if you do that sort of thing to your friends you're going to wake up one day to find that they're too afraid of you to be your friend."

"That's sad and all but I don't really care Weasley." Malfoy feigned a sad expression on his face as he nodded his head. "The _only _thing that matters is winning." He said. His voice was low and he was speaking through clenched teeth. With that, Malfoy stalked past me, walking towards the castle extremely quickly.

I remained glued to my spot, a bit stunned to be honest. I wasn't really all that surprised to hear how important winning was to Malfoy. After all, the two of us had been competing over grades, Quidditch matches and smart-ass retorts for years. I was always aware that winning was every bit as important to him as it was too me. What I _was_ shocked to figure out was that winning was more important to Malfoy than it was to me. For Malfoy, winning was the most important thing in his life. I frowned and rolled my eyes before beginning my journey to the castle. I was tired, sore and needed to finish my homework so I could go to sleep. I needed my strength for tomorrow was going to be a very busy day. I didn't have the time, patience or strength to think about Malfoy's serious psychological problems. Besides, even if I had, had the time, I didn't care enough.


	7. before the storm

**A/N: Hello all! I wanted to have this out earlier but, as it's the longest chapter in the series thus far, it took me a while to write. Thanks to all of you reading this, I hope you're enjoying the story! A huge thanks goes out to those of you who have reviewed! I love reading your opinions on the chapters and any and all advice is more than welcome. If you have an idea that you think will make the story better and more enjoyable to read, please, let me know! Thanks also goes out to those of you who have put this story on your alert list, and/or your favorites list! You all are keeping me motivated.**

Now, I did a little something different with this chapter. The beginning is done from Scorpius' point of view. It picks up right after his conversation with Rose from the last chapter. I wasn't sure if I was doing a good job at writing from Scorpius' point of view so I didn't make his part too long but if it turns out well, I'll do it again in the future. Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: Broke college student = I do not own!**

_Scorpius_

"The _only _thing that matters is winning." I muttered through clenched teeth. My hand was wrapped firmly around the handle of my new broom. I could feel the wood giving way under the pressure I was putting on it. Out of the corner of my eye I glanced down at my hand to see that my knuckles had turned white. Quickly, I loosened my grip on the handle of the broom and turned my gaze back on to Weasley's face. I frowned at her as I took in the shocked expression she was wearing. For a moment I expected her to lash out at me, to scream, to yell, to start calling me names. However, when she didn't, I merely turned on my heel and began to march back up to the castle. My mind was reeling. Somehow, she had managed to get under my skin. Somehow she had managed to get me to divulge far more information than I had meant to.

A growl escaped my lips as I entered the castle. Frustrated with myself, I ran a hand through my blond hair. As I took my hand out of my hair a few strands fell into my eyes. I would need a haircut soon. This was all very new to me. I wasn't used to being the one who got worked up. Sure, Weasley knew how to press my buttons better than anyone else at Hogwarts, but for the last six years she had always been the first one to loose her temper. This time however, she had done marvelously, keeping her calm exterior until the very end. As I stomped through the dungeons I could sense the curious looks the people I was passing were shooting at me. However, no one dared to utter a single word. By now the entire Slytherin house knew not to bother me when I was in a bad mood. Even the first years had caught on over the past week.

I muttered the password and the entrance to the common room opened up. There were a few people milling about but the only person present that I would even consider talking to at the moment was Emmanuel Zabini. Making my way over to the couch where Emmanuel was sitting I nodded at him in acknowledgment. Emmanuel returned the nod and then closed the book he had been reading. "What's up?" He asked, arching a brow at me.

"Nothing." I replied. My tone was bitter and rough. I was being far too rude to someone I considered to be a friend. Apparently the part of my brain that controlled my speech had yet to figure out that I was no longer speaking to Rose Weasley.

"Must be a hell of a nothing." Emmanuel countered, a good-natured smile on his face. Emmanuel and I had been good friends ever since we had been small children. However, I wasn't about to divulge to him that I had allowed Weasley to work me up. That was information I would never divulge.

"Nothing, just a rough Quidditch practice." I mumbled.

"Ah, I see." Emmanuel replied, nodding his head. "How's that going anyway? Molly and I are taking bets on the game actually, so you and Rose better pull that team of yours together."

I arched a brow and looked at Emmanuel. Emmanuel had always been quiet and reserved but I had always figured he held the same bitterness towards the Weasley's that I did. Apparently I was wrong.

"We're trying, though you better be careful with your money Emmanuel, I might kill Weasley before the match even starts." I replied, my words coming out as more of a hiss than as eloquent English.

Emmanuel laughed and shook his head, "It can't be that bad mate."

I arched a brow at him and glowered for a few moments. "I'll see you later," was my only response before I turned around and headed up to my dormitory. Speaking to Emmanuel had only caused me to replay the conversation I had just had with the Weasley girl. Where did she get off talking to me about the importance of winning and loosing? I stormed into my room and dropped my things on the floor before sitting down on the edge of my bed. I ran my hands over the top of my thighs nervously. Weasley simply didn't understand. I knew she liked winning; she was every bit as competitive as I was. However, she didn't _need _to win like I did. Her family was full of heroes. Hell, there were dozens of books written about the glory of her family, and dozens on her parents alone. I on the other hand, well, I came from a family that had been disgraced by the last war. I _needed _to win at everything I did so I could prove to the wizarding world that the name of Malfoy was not worthless. No one was going to stand in my way, not even Rose Weasley.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I jumped upon hearing the knock on my door. "One second." I called out. I rose from my spot on the edge of the bed and walked over to the mirror in the corner of my room. I ran a hand through my hair and observed the expression on my face, making it as neutral as possible. With that, I opened the door only to see a tall, thin brunette giving me a blinding smile.

"Hello Claudia." I greeted with a nod of my head. Claudia and I had been friends for about a year. Our friendship afforded me many benefits.

"I heard you were in a bad mood and I thought that I could cheer you up." She said, slinking into my room. I forced a smile as I looked at her and let the door shut.

_Rose_

Despite the fact that I had gone to bed at a late hour the previous night, much to my dismay I had started to drift in and out of my pleasant sleep before my alarm had even gone off. Unsure of the time I rolled onto my stomach, burying my face deep within my pillow in the hopes that it would help me fall asleep. As I began to fall back asleep I felt something tickling my foot. Instinctively, I kicked my foot upwards and felt it make contact with a solid object. My intention was to simply ignore whatever I had hit. It was probably just something one of my dorm mates had left out the previous night.

"Ouch! Rosie!" A familiar voice whined. Oops, guess it wasn't an inanimate object. With a groan I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes to see Lily rubbing her abdomen. Despite my best effort to keep a straight face, I let out a small laugh. After all, she had it coming. However, upon seeing the glare Lily was shooting me, I bit my lip, preventing any further giggles from escaping my lips.

"Sorry Lils!" I exclaimed, sitting up in bed before I swung my legs over the side and stood up. Stretching my arms, I looked over at my cousin only to spot the quill she had used to wake me. "What on earth did you do that for anyway?" I questioned, a slightly irked expression on my face.

"Just wanted to make sure you wouldn't sleep through your class today." She replied, giving me a warm smile. "I know you went to bed late last night." She nodded her head, widening her jade green eyes. For a moment, I believed her. The corners of my lips twitched upwards into a smile until my eyes landed on the clock sitting on my nightstand. From the look of things it was only eight thirty in the morning. Instantly, the corners of my lips turned downwards. The only class I had today was History of Magic and that was at half past noon.

"Lils!" I exclaimed, turning my head, narrowing my eyes. Lily gave me a guilty smile before waggling her fingers at me, "See you later Rosie! Love you!" She called before making a dash for the door. I watched her leave the room, powerless to stop her. With a shake of my head I blew my bangs out of my face. Lily was very good at acting as the picture of innocence and she had convinced a number of people that out of all the Weasley-Potter cousins still in school, she was the best behaved. Excluding Molly of course, but that girl was a saint. The truth however was that Lily was every bit as mischievous as James and Fred were. She was merely better at getting away with it.

I sighed, placing my hands on my hips as I looked around the dormitory. There was only one other girl left in the dormitory and she was sound asleep all the way on the other side of the room. For a moment I considered trying to go back to sleep. However, I knew very well that now that I was up there was no way I was going to be able to fall back into a restful sleep. Getting back into bed would lead me to toss and turn for hours. Instead, I decided that I would use this extra time to get ready for the day and review the Quidditch strategy for tomorrow's game.

In about an hour, I was showered, dressed and ready for the long day ahead. I gathered my books for History of Magic and dumped them into my bag before grabbing the Quidditch notes sitting atop my desk. Over the past week I had started to take notes throughout the practices so that I could review them later and see what the real problems were with the team. Unlike with the regular Gryffindor team, with this new, combined team, I couldn't always rationally evaluate things during practices. After all, it was hard to think straight when there was a new fight to break up every ten minutes. With my notes in hand, I left the dormitory and made my way down the stairs into the common room. There were a few people milling about in the common room, mostly finishing up some homework they had failed to get to the night before. Dropping my bag onto the floor, I fell onto the couch and stretched out my legs, bringing the Quidditch notes up to my face so that I could read them. My eyes scanned over the words on the page and as I read I crossed out the things that had already been addressed and underlined the matters that had to be taken care of this evening. As I rifled through the papers to find the sheet on which Malfoy and I had drawn up our game plan I heard a commotion just outside the common room. Frowning, I lowered my notes so that only my eyes were visible above the pieces of paper.

The portrait swung open and in walked Frank, his hair disheveled, his tie loose and a heap of banner paper, ribbons, and quills in his arms. Behind the papers in my hand my lips twitched into a smile. As Frank moved out of the doorway I could see that the fifth and sixth year prefects were behind him. All four of them had their arms equally as full. With a look of concentration on his face, Frank motioned to the other prefects where exactly each of them should place their stuff. As his eyes scanned the room, they landed on me and his brown eyes opened wide.

"Rosie!" Frank exclaimed.

"Hey Frank." I replied smiling as I removed the papers from my face so that my voice could carry across the room. My eyes wandered over to the heaps of ribbon and paper now scattered throughout the common room. I narrowed my eyes and I could swear I saw cans of paint. Arching a brow, I turned my attention back onto Frank who had, by now, rid his arms of all the things he had been carrying. "Frank, what is all this?" I questioned.

"Team bonding material!" He exclaimed, not skipping a beat. Frank beamed, his smile reaching from ear to ear. "You see, at first I wasn't sure where I would find all of this stuff but then I did as you told be and asked the Crowley girl. Shockingly, she was helpful. We both rounded up our prefects and got this stuff just about an hour ago. Right now, she's in the dungeons with the Slytherin prefects with her half of the stuff, you know…"

Frank had started rambling. Something he did whenever he was either nervous or proud of himself. "Good job Frank." I said, interrupting him. I smiled broadly to show him that I was one hundred percent sincere in my statement. Frank ceased his rambling and smiled at me, "Thanks Rose." He replied. Frank grinned at me for a few moments before a look of realization washed over his face. He frowned at me.

"What is it?" I asked, tilting my head to the right.

"Get out Rose." Frank said simply. There was no anger in his voice, nor any spite. Rather, his tone of voice was very matter of fact.

"Excuse me?" I asked, frowning, genuinely confused. I was fairly certain that I hadn't said or done anything wrong. Plus, I still had an hour to go until the start of class and I intended to spend it splayed out on the couch.

"You heard me Miss Weasley!" Frank exclaimed, smiling. "You may be my fellow prefect and all but you're also one of the captains of the strange Quidditch team I shall be rooting for tomorrow. This whole team building thing is for you and the team so I can't have any of you see what we're doing until it's done!" Frank walked towards me, grabbing my arm, pulling me off of the couch.

"Oh come on Frank, I won't look." I promised, widening my eyes at him. "I have an hour till History of Magic, don't make me leave." I stuck out my bottom lip, trying to guilt him into letting me stay.

Wrinkling his nose, Frank pointed his index finger at me. "Don't try that with me Rose. Who do you think you're kidding? Of course you'll look. Now, out with you!" Frank leaned down, grabbed my bag off of the floor and thrust it into my arms. My jaw dropped open and I looked at him in disbelief. I was being kicked out of the common room.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll leave, I know when I'm not wanted." I muttered, swinging my bag over my shoulder. I keep trying to make Frank feel guilty until the very last moment. "Good girl." Frank replied, patting the top of my head as he pushed me towards the exit. The portrait swung open and Frank pushed me out into the hallway. I turned around just in time to get one last look of Frank wearing a very smug expression. Then, the fat lady slammed shut in my face.

"Move along dearie." The portrait of the fat lady sang, waving me off. Shaking my head, I turned on my heel and walked away. With a little under an hour to go until History of Magic however, I wasn't sure of where to go. Breakfast was over by now and I didn't want to settle in, in the library only to have to go to class in fifty minutes. Sighing, I decided that I would just head over to the classroom early and read until the class began. It only took me a few minutes to make it to the classroom on the fifth floor. Leaning my back against the stone wall, I slid down onto the floor and stretched my legs out, crossing my ankles. Bringing my bag onto my lap, I rifled through the papers until I found the Quidditch notes. Placing them on my lap, I began to read. Thanks to one Lily Potter however, I was not able to keep my eyes open for long. Slowly, my eyelids lowered and I leaned the back of my head onto the wall behind me, allowing myself to drift into a light sleep.

I ceased being aware of how much time was passing and the next thing I knew was that someone had taken to kicking my legs. Quickly, my eyes opened and I looked up to see none other than the infamous Scorpius Malfoy. "You're blocking the doorway Weasley." He stated simply, giving my leg another light kick.

"Malfoy, I'm awake, stop that." I snapped, gathering my things and standing up. "You could have just stepped over my legs." I muttered, patting my hair down to make sure it hadn't gotten too out of place.

Malfoy had his back to me and was currently in the process of walking into the History of Magic classroom. However, he had still managed to hear my comment. "And that would have required me to exert effort on your behalf." He answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Incorrigible." I muttered under my breath, following him into the classroom. I could hear the other students shuffling in after me as I made my way towards the front of the classroom. Most people found History of Magic to be a mind-numbing subject but I found it to be captivating; a clear indication that I was Hermione Granger's daughter. I took my seat in the first row on the right side of the classroom and glanced across the room to see Malfoy in his usual seat – all the way in the back, on the left side of the classroom. I never ceased to be amazed at how Malfoy could act so nonchalant about his class work and still manage to stay neck in neck with me as we vied for top of our class. From time to time Malfoy would say something remarkably insightful in class just to remind everyone of how smart he was. However, for the most part, he simply sat in the back making snide remarks under his breath. Pursing my lips, I turned my attention back to the front of the classroom where Professor Binns was currently standing.

"Welcome class," he began slowly. I sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment, ready to take the days notes. The truth was that despite my love of history, Professor Binns was very hard to listen to. It took a great deal of patience and effort to get involved in his lecture, though once you did, it was worth it. Again however, it took effort, and I didn't know how much energy I could afford to expend today.

"Before I begin my lecture, I would like to announce a project we will all be doing in preparation for the N.E.W.T exam you will all be taking at the end of the year." Here, Professor Binns paused as if he needed to let the words sink in. I lowered my gaze, mentally urging him to move on. The whole class consisted of seventh years all of whom, I was fairly certain, had all gotten over the shock of having to do a project for a class.

"It will be a research project that will consist of an essay as well as an oral presentation." Binns paused again to riffle through a number of papers. I sighed. "It will be an independent project and I do not want you consulting with anyone else in the class. I will consider that cheating." A sigh of relief left me as I heard the words 'independent project'. As much as I was a social person I thoroughly disliked working with other people on school assignments. One thing that I had noticed from the few times I had been forced to work in a group was that there were always one or two people who did all the work while the rest of the group members sat on their laurels.

"I have already assigned each of you a topic. Each assignment is from a topic we have already discussed in class, either at the end of last year or in the past week so you do not have to worry about any material after nineteen-hundred." With that, Professor Binns began to hand out small sheets of paper that indicated our assigned topics. As my paper landed on the desk in front of me I quickly grabbed it and opened it. I was relieved upon seeing that the topic he had given me was quite interesting. After all, political intrigue was far more exciting to read about than goblin wars. With that, I set the sheet of paper aside and settled into my chair for the lecture.

Three hours, and one lecture later, I found myself making my way over to the Quidditch pitch for what would be the last practice before the big match. I took in a sharp breath and bit my bottom lip. Nerves were beginning to fill my body and my thoughts began to wander. What if we lost the match tomorrow? Honestly, I didn't think our fragile Gryffindor – Slytherin alliance could handle it. We needed a win tomorrow to give us any shot at succeeding at whatever challenges Molly and Emmanuel had planned for the future. If Malfoy and I couldn't get five students to cooperate with each other there was no way we would be able to get two whole houses to get along. I continued to bite my lip until I heard yelling coming from ahead. With a shake of my head I snapped out of my thoughts and glanced up only to see that Frederick, Charles, Amelia, Albus and Lily were all already up in the air, practicing and yelling directions to each other. The sight caused me to stop in my tracks and I searched the pitch for any indication that Malfoy had arrived early and set them to work. However, despite having scanned the entire Quidditch pitch I did not spot Malfoy anywhere in the vicinity.

"Well, I'll be damned." I muttered under my breath before I jogged the rest of the way to the pitch. After having set my bag down I stood by the edge of the pitch and began to watch the team practice. All of a sudden, Frederick threw his hands up in the air and began to argue with Charles Flint. Before I could get involved however, Albus and Robert had flown over to smooth over the disagreement. Within a matter of minutes, the argument had been worked out and the practice continued. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Malfoy approaching but I made no move to acknowledge his presence. The sight before me was far more captivating.

"Why the bloody hell did you start practice without me?" Malfoy demanded, dumping his bag at my feet.

"I didn't." I replied simply, unfazed by the tone he had used. "They did." I added, my voice filled with awe.

"You mean to tell me they got here early and started practice without us having to push them?" Malfoy questioned. The bitterness was gone from his voice but there was a distinct tone if disbelief.

"Yup." I replied simply, nodding my head. For the next couple of minutes Malfoy and I continued to watch the team practice. Every time a scuffle would erupt we merely stood by and watched as it was worked out internally. With a smile on my face, I grabbed my broom and turned to Malfoy.

"Seems like we managed to do it." I said.

"What, put together a 'damn good team'?" He questioned, repeating the phrase I had used the previous day during our argument.

With a roll of my eyes I began to walk onto the pitch. "No, I meant we managed to go a whole week without murdering each other." I called over my shoulder.

"Don't count on that Weasley, I still have until tomorrow afternoon to plot and execute your demise." He never skips a beat.

From the way practice went that day, an outside observer would of thought that we had all been playing together for months. Of course, every once in a while a small argument would break out, but the team would manage to work it out between themselves without intervention from either Malfoy or myself. It was quite amazing actually. For three hours we worked like a well-oiled machine. At seven p.m., as the sun began to set, the entirety of the team touched down onto the pitch. Like the previous day, Malfoy and I stood in front of the rest of the team. I opened my mouth to speak but quickly shut it, remembering the aneurysm my previous pep speech had given Malfoy.

"Weasley…" Malfoy hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

I arched a brow and turned my head to look at him, wondering what on earth he wanted out of me. Once he had my attention, Malfoy nodded over to the team. Confused, I pointed to myself and with a roll of his eyes he nodded. It seemed as if Malfoy _wanted _me to give a pep talk.

"Er…right…" I muttered before turning my head to look at the rest of the team. "Good job today guys," I began, still feeling a bit uncomfortable. For some reason I thought Malfoy was going to explode on me any moment now. "We started off really rocky and honestly, I didn't think we would be able to get to this point. But, we did it!" A smile broke out over my face. "Now, don't worry, just because we can work well together on a pitch does not mean that the rest of the school will think that all of a sudden we're all friends." Looking up in front of me I could have sworn that Charles and Amelia were trying to suppress small smiles. "Tomorrow, when we get out onto the pitch, I can assure you that the other team is going to expect us be a huge mess. We have got a far superior team and if we can just do what we did at practice today, there's no way we can loose." I finished, my smile reaching from ear to ear. I was excited to be honest. Every single person on our team was extremely talented, putting us in a great position to win the match.

I glanced over at Malfoy to see whether or not he was he going to pounce on me for my motivational speech. Instead of glaring at me, Malfoy looked genuinely amused. A lop-sided smirk was present on his face and I wasn't sure what this look was supposed to mean.

"But uh, make sure you stay on your toes." I quickly added, causing Malfoy to let out a short laugh before he shook his head and walked over to the sidelines to gather his things. I frowned at his back before shaking my head and grabbing my things as well. Upon looking up I saw Albus, Lily and Frederick all waiting for me so that we could walk back to the common room together. With a grin I jogged up to them and then the four of us proceeded to slowly walk up to the castle.

"Cute speech Rosie." Albus teased, ruffling my hair. I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him. Albus was always quick to tease me about my pep speeches. James had allowed me to make a few last year and Albus had started making fun of me back then. However, he had, on occasion, let on that he actually enjoyed them. Lily and Frederick laughed at the two of us as we entered the castle.

"So Rosie, am I forgiven for this morning?" Lily asked, turning her head to grin at me. As I looked at her, she widened her eyes and batted her lashes, giving me the most innocent look she could muster up. Seeing the look Lily was giving me, Frederick looked over at me, "What did she do, murder your owl?" He asked.

I laughed and shook my head, "No, this one woke me up three hours before my alarm was set to go off. She used a quill to tickle my foot." Frederick and Albus laughed as we reached the seventh floor landing. As Frederick gave the fat lady the password she grinned at us and winked before swinging open. In the back of my mind I wondered why she had done that. However, before I could voice my confusion my eyes landed on the inside of the common room. My eyes widened and I didn't utter a word of protest as Albus shoved me through the portrait hole. Frank had done a hell of a job. There was a huge banner strung up in the common room that read 'Slythindors'. Half the word was painted emerald and the other half was painted crimson. Someone had enchanted the banner so that every couple of minutes, the colors would alternate. The banner also included four enchanted drawings, a snake, a lion, a badger and an eagle. The snake and the lion were busy chasing the badger and the eagle. I laughed as the lion pounced on the eagle.

My eyes dropped away from the banner so I could take in the rest of the common room. The entire common room was decorated in both the Slytherin and the Gryffindor banner colors. It seemed as if the entire house was currently milling about the common room.

"Rosie!"

I spun around to see Frank heading my way. "So?" He questioned, arching a brow at me.

"Fantastic." I breathed, hugging him. "Brilliantly done."

Frank pulled away, his smile reaching from ear to ear. "Thank you, thank you very much." He said, taking a bow. I laughed at him, taking out the hair tie out of my hair. My ponytail came loose and my hair fell around my shoulders. Frank had even provided food and drinks.

"How did you pull this off?" I questioned. My eyes were still glued on the sight in front of me so I had to turn my chin to the right to be able to talk to Frank over my shoulder.

"Well, let me tell you all about it…" Frank began throwing an arm over my shoulder as he led me towards the table with all the food. As we walked forward a snitch flew by my ear followed by an enchanted quaffle.

"Hell of a job Frank. Hell of a job." I whispered.


	8. frenemies

**A/N: Hello again! Here is the next chapter! Thanks once again to those of you reviewing, subscribing and favoriting! You all are keeping me motived so I hope you're enjoying the story. Once again, if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know whether through a review or through a message. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

My eyes fluttered open and my gaze was met with the cream colored dormitory ceiling. For a few seconds, I continued to lie in bed, until something clicked within my mind. Game day. As that realization swept over me, my body shot up in bed and my heart rate increased. Quickly, I glanced around and noticed that all of the other girls in the dorm were still fast asleep. After rubbing my eyes for a few moments I swung my legs over the side of the bed and tiptoed around the room, grabbing my Quidditch uniform out of my trunk. The uniform was no longer all crimson, but it had been enchanted to be both crimson and emerald. I ran the risk of looking like a Christmas tree, especially with my red hair, but it was something I was willing to deal with for the sake of team unity.

With my Quidditch uniform in hand, I tiptoed to the bathroom and began to get ready. As I took my pajamas off, I took a deep breath trying to calm my nerves. My stomach was an absolute mess and I was afraid that I would actually be sick. Throughout the entire hour it took me to get ready I was also trying to calm myself down. Having showered and changed into my Quidditch uniform I turned to look at myself in the mirror. It took me less than five minutes to put on my makeup and tie my hair up into a high, tight ponytail. My hands both lay flat against the sink counter and I took a deep breath. In an attempt to mask my nerves I plastered a huge, fake smile on my face and then walked back into the dorm. My smile faltered for a moment when I noticed that all of the girls who had previously been fast asleep were now all gone. I frowned in confusion before deciding to put it out of my mind I had other things to worry about at the moment. With that, I walked over to my bed and pulled my broom out from its spot under the bed. With my broom in hand, I took a deep breath and nodded my head. As soon as I stepped outside of the dormitory, I heard a plethora of cheers and claps. My eyes opened wide in surprise and I glanced down over the stairway banister to see the entire house crowded together in the common room. A huge, genuine smile overtook my face as I saw Lily, Frederick, and Albus standing at the very front of the crowd. Each of them had small 'Slythindor' pins on their uniforms, no doubt provided by Frank. Anxious to join the crowd, I hurried down the stairs and came to stand next to Albus.

"And I thought they cheered loudly for me! You're making me jealous Rosie." Albus teased, throwing an arm around me as he led me further into the crowd of Gryffindors. I laughed at Albus and looked up at him, "It's only because you were down here to cheer for me." I countered.

Albus' eyes widened as if a light bulb had just gone off in his head. "Ah, you're probably right." He responded with a laugh. Albus reached over to ruffle my hair and quickly, I ducked to avoid his hand. "Ah, ah, ah. No. Not this time." I exclaimed, holding up my index finger. Albus narrowed his eyes at me, "You've gotten away this time Rosie, but I'll get you." I laughed and opened my mouth to retort when I heard Frank call me over from across the room. With a grin towards Albus, I weaved my way through the crowded common room and found Frank.

"Hey. What's up?" I questioned, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Here you go Rosie." He said, presenting me with a 'Slythindor' pin. "Our captain should most certainly have one." Frank nodded before approaching me and pinning it onto my uniform. I looked down to where Frank had pinned it, right underneath my left collarbone.

"Thanks Frank." I breathed, still looking down at my pin. I smiled and looked up at Frank, beaming at him.

"No problem Rosie." He replied, enveloping me in a hug. "Now, go out there and do a good job today. I've got money on this with some of the Ravenclaws in my Herbology class."

"Frank!" I exclaimed, pulling away from his hug. Playfully, I hit his arm to show my discontent. "Since when do you bet on Quidditch matches?" I questioned.

"Ever since I stand to quadruple my winnings if you guys win." He replied, giving me a cheeky grin. I widened my eyes at him, pursing my lips. Frank, seeing that I was displeased with him, laughed, "Go, fight, win!" He exclaimed before giving me a quick wave and disappearing into the crowd.

Despite myself I smirked and shook my head. Realizing that I needed to keep an eye on the team, I noticed that it was seven-thirty. The fact that it was so early made it even more amazing that the entire house had woken up to greet the team. I felt the knot in my stomach loosen just a bit.

"Rosie, come on, let's get some breakfast." Lily came up to my side and grabbed my arm. Blinking my eyes, I dropped my gaze away from the large grandfather clock in the corner of the room and looked over at Lily. "Good idea." I replied, nodding my head. I failed to mention the fact that I was still feeling nauseous. However, I knew I needed to get some food in me before the game. Playing Quidditch on an empty stomach was never a good idea, and I knew that this game was going to be long and rough. As Lily and I weaved through the common room we grabbed Frederick and Albus, pulling them along towards the portrait hole.

"See you all down by the pitch!" Albus exclaimed, causing the common room to erupt into cheers. The four of us laughed before we left the common room to get some breakfast. The rest of the Gryffindors would probably need some more time to fully wake up and get ready before the match. Besides, the team needed to be out on the pitch before the spectators. As the four of us left the common room and entered the halls, I could tell that there was a certain energy in the air. Hogwarts had seen hundreds of Quidditch matches, but this was something new altogether.

Upon entering the Great Hall, I was surprised to see that instead of the usual four, long tables there were only two tables in the hall. The table on the left side of the hall had a giant crimson and emerald banner with a snake weaved around a lion. The table on the right side of the hall had a gold and blue banner with a badger and eagle shown standing side by side. I exchanged glances with Lily and Albus before the four of us made our way over to our table. We were the first four to arrive and so I sat next to Frederick as Albus and Lily sat across the table. We had hardly settled in however before footsteps were heard on the other side of the Great Hall. Lifting my gaze, I saw Malfoy leading the Slytherin half of the team into the hall. The Slytherins walked up to the table and Malfoy looked at me for a moment before he took in the seating situation.

"Guys, make room." I muttered to Albus, Frederick and Lily. The three of them exchanged glances before they spread out so that we could have each Gryffindor sitting next to a Slytherin. In keeping with our mission of building team unity, Malfoy took his seat to my right.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Malfoy to see a look of pure concentration on his face. His brows were furrowed and his gaze was firmly set on the empty plate in front of him. I wanted to say something to him but I wasn't really sure what I should say. Part of me wanted to say something snide to him, but the other part of me wanted to reassure him that the game would go just fine. The part of me that wanted to reassure him wanted to tell him that there was no reason for him to worry, that we would win. However, I wasn't sure how he would react to either of those scenarios so I kept my mouth shut and turned my full attention back onto the food in front of me. My stomach was still full of butterflies that the only things I could manage to put on my plate were a slice of toast and half of a grapefruit. As I picked up my fork I looked down to see that my hand was shaking. My eyes widened. I had never been this nervous before a Quidditch match before.

"Nervous Weasley?" Malfoy asked from beside me. There was a sharp undertone in his voice but when I turned my head to look at him there was no sign of malice on his face. Maybe that was the natural tone he used whilst speaking to people.

I opened my mouth with every intention to deny that I was nervous. "A bit." I replied. Those were not the words that I had intended to utter. Apparently my brain and my mouth were going to refuse to cooperate with one another at the moment. I held my breath, waiting for whatever comment was going to fly out of Malfoy's mouth. However, all he did was nod and then return his attention to his empty plate. I looked at him for a few seconds before averting my own gaze. I hadn't even put my fork down when Malfoy had started to speak to me. Clearing my throat, I stabbed the fork into the grapefruit, causing some of the juice to spill out. There were conversations going on up and down the Slythindor table, especially now that more members of both houses had started to come down. In the background, I could hear Frank and Adeline chiding people for not sitting with members of the other house. Despite the fact that I could hear their words rather distinctly, it felt as if they were miles away.

"Worried?" Malfoy questioned, once more breaking me out of my thoughts. Why was he asking me these questions? This time around I didn't even bother to look at him. "A bit." I replied, just like before. Malfoy had hit the nail on the head. I was worried that all our hard work would just go to hell on the field over some petty house disagreement. If that happened, the game would be a disaster, and then the rest of the year would be impossible to get through. I peaked at Malfoy out of the corner of my eye to see him give me one quick, curt nod. His jaw was clenched, accentuating his strong features. Sensing my gaze on him, Malfoy shifted his eyes to look at me. As his eyes met with mine, I looked away. There was so much tension in the air at the moment that I felt as if there was physical barrier between Malfoy and myself. Giving up on my grapefruit, I began to nibble on my toast. My eyes darted to Malfoy's plate to see that he too had barely touched his food. Shifting my gaze, I looked across the table to see Albus devouring everything in sight. My lips began to pull upwards into a grin. I was glad that I could always count on some things to remain constant. From beside me I heard Malfoy clear his throat. Turning my head, I noticed him nodding over to the doors.

"Time to go?" I questioned. Before Malfoy could answer me, my eyes darted over to the clock on the other side of the hall. It was eight-thirty and the match would be starting in half an hour. The other members of the Quidditch team rose and I followed suit. My feet felt heavy, as if someone had tied weights around my ankles. As we walked out of the Great Hall and towards the Quidditch pitch, I walked a few steps behind Malfoy with the rest of the team right behind me. Once the locker rooms came into sight, Malfoy's voice drifted to my ears.

"Stop being so morose Weasley." Malfoy hissed over his shoulder. The volume of his voice was so low it was barely audible.

"What?" I muttered back in confusion. I turned my head to glance over my shoulder just to make sure that no one else was paying attention to the hushed conversation going on between Malfoy and myself. The lot of them seemed to be engaged in a conversation amongst themselves, so I figured they weren't paying attention to whatever it was that was going on between Malfoy and myself. Turning my head back towards Malfoy I saw him glancing over his shoulder.

"You're acting like someone died. If you keep acting like this and we loose the game, it's going to be all your fault."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. Was Malfoy really about to try and pin a potential loss on my nerves? "Malfoy, we haven't even started the match yet and you're already trying to pin our loss on me?" I hissed, my eyes narrowing at him.

"Yes." He stated simply, nodding his head. His chin was still slightly turned to the left so that he could glance at me over his shoulder. My jaw clenched and I glowered at him. The knots in my stomach were gone and now the only thing I felt was frustration. Malfoy turned his chin away from me but just as I turned my head I thought I saw a smug smirk gracing his features. Upon coming up to the locker rooms, Malfoy stopped and allowed me to be the first to enter the locker room. "Still nervous Weasley?" He whispered into my ear as I passed by him. His mouth was so close to my ear that I could feel his hot breath on my ear. A shiver went down my spine but I shook off the feeling. My jaw dropped a bit and the only response I gave him was an elbow to his side.

Rather then retaliating, Malfoy merely chuckled before following me into the locker room. I sat down and watched as the rest of the team shuffled in and sat down. My eyes wandered around the room, taking in everyone's expression. Small smiles were exchanged but no one uttered word. It was as if we all thought this alliance was so fragile that any misplaced comment could shatter it. There was probably a great deal of truth in that belief. Twenty minutes later we heard the call to enter the Quidditch pitch. A collective breath was inhaled before we went to what was going to be a match for the history books.

The match turned out to be every bit as tough as I had imagined. The Ravenclaws were known for coming up with clever and unique game strategies and they definitely delivered for the match. The Hufflepuff side of the team had instilled their work ethic on the whole team, meaning that all of the maneuvers were extremely clean and well executed. These advantages however, didn't come into play for the Ravenpuffs until an hour into the game. At the start of the match it was clear that their initial strategy was based solely around us being disoriented and unable to cooperate. Because of that, we were able to take the early lead. An hour later however, the Ravenpuffs switched to their second plan and began to catch up. Three hours later, the score stood at 120 – 90, with us still in the lead.

In front of me, I could see two of the Ravenpuff chasers passing the quaffle between themselves. I leaned forward, hoping to catch up to them. I knew Malfoy and Anthony Belby, the Ravenclaw seeker, were still searching for the snitch, but I couldn't worry about that at the moment. My goal at the moment was to work with Charles and Amelia to get us at least one hundred and fifty points ahead of the Ravenpuffs so that even if Anthony Belby caught the snitch, we would still win the match. At the moment I was focused on the Ravenpuff chasers in front of me but out of the corner of my eye I saw a bludger headed my way. "Shit" I muttered under my breath before quickly diving down to avoid being hit. I felt the bludger pass over my head and I glanced over my right shoulder to see Robert Nott hit the bludger towards Anthony Belby. With that worry out of the way for the moment, I turned my attention back towards trying to find the quaffle. I spotted the Ravenpuff chasers heading towards Frederick with Charles and Amelia close behind. That was when I felt a raindrop fall onto my hand. Frowning, I quickly glanced up at the sky to see dark clouds right above us. It just got better and better.

I muttered under my breath before taking off after Charles and Amelia. I kept a good distance behind them for if either of them got a hold of the quaffle they could quickly pass it back to me since I was closer to the opponents' goals. Just as one of the Ravenpuff chasers was about to throw the quaffle towards the goal posts, Charles shoved him to the right, causing the quaffle to fall into Amelia's waiting arms. Like the skilled chaser she was, Amelia turned around and quickly began to head towards the opposite end of the pitch. When her eyes landed on me, I held my breath. For a moment I thought she was going to ignore me and go for the goal herself. However, she soon threw the quaffle to me and I was off. The rain had to started to fall heavily by now and I could feel my hair becoming matted. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charles coming up behind me. He winked at me and I smirked – he was here to help me confuse the keeper. I passed the quaffle to Charles and he flew ahead with it while I veered off to the left. The moment the keeper moved to defend the right-most goal against Charles, he threw the quaffle to me and I threw the quaffle into the left goal. The quaffle sailed through and a cheer erupted in the stands.

Charles and I exchanged glances before we began to fly back towards the middle of the pitch, waiting for the keeper to release the quaffle once more. Not only was it raining but the wind had picked up. Nervously, I glanced over at the scoreboard. We were only forty points ahead and if Malfoy didn't catch the snitch soon there were going to be many, many injuries. Just as the keeper was about to release the quaffle, he turned his head to the right, forgetting about the task at hand. My eyes dropped down to where he was looking and that's when I saw Malfoy and Belby diving for the snitch. My eyes widened and I watched as the two pulled up, then dived down, pulled up, and then dived down once again, following the movements of the tiny golden ball.

"Throw the damn quaffle already!" Charles yelled from a few feet to my right, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked a few times and looked over at Charles. He too had seen the fight for the snitch but he was thinking rationally, if neither of them caught the snitch then we would have wasted several minutes. The Ravenpuff keeper frowned and glared at Charles before throwing the quaffle across the pitch. Charles sped off and I followed. Amelia was way ahead of both Charles and I and she had snatched the quaffle from right under the nose of one of the Ravenpuff chasers. Smirking wildly over her success, Amelia threw the quaffle to Charles and once again, Charles and I headed towards the keeper goals. Charles threw the quaffle to me and I veered off to the right. As I held the quaffle in my arms, I glanced down to see Malfoy and Belby still vying for the seeker. They were flying so close to the ground that the gusts generated by their brooms caused mud to fling upwards. Tearing my gaze away, I threw the quaffle to Charles and watched him throw the quaffle. The quaffle sailed through the goals, putting us another ten points ahead of the Ravenpuffs. The Ravenpuff keeper muttered a string of profanities as he picked up the quaffle.

As the keeper made the move to throw the quaffle back into play, a deafening cheer went through the crowd and my heart stopped. I whipped my head around to see Malfoy hovering in the middle of pitch, the snitch firmly in his hand. The team cheered loudly and a smile burst onto my face. I looked at Malfoy to see that he too was actually smiling. Yes, smiling, not smirking or sneering. Perhaps Malfoy felt my gaze on him for a moment later, he turned his head to look at me. The smile remained on his face and I nodded at him. Malfoy returned the nod and I slowly began to descend, touching down as the rest of the team did the same. Loud cheers could still be heard in the stands and our strangle medley of a team gathered together for a photograph. Malfoy and I stood next to each other in the front, surrounded by the rest of the team. The both of us looked like hell. Malfoy had mud all over his uniform and there were streaks of dirt on his face. His blond hair, which was usually in perfect condition, looked as if it hadn't been brushed in months. I too looked like a disaster. The ponytail I had meticulously tied that morning had fallen out, leaving my thick red hair to fall around my shoulders. My hair was soaked and so rather than the usual waves it was pin straight and sticking to my face. My face was flushed as if I was feverish. Regardless, Malfoy and I were both wearing huge grins as the camera flashed. For a brief moment Malfoy and I weren't enemies but rather teammates.

Once the picture was taken, dozens of Gryffindors and Slytherins rushed onto the pitch, separating us. Albus, Frederick and I were engulfed in a crowd of Gryffindors led by Lily. I laughed and nodded as people congratulated us. Quickly, I glanced over my shoulder to see that Malfoy, Charles, Amelia and Robert had likewise been engulfed by a large group of Slytherins. Quickly, I looked away and allowed myself to be pushed into the castle.

_ Scorpius _

Though I had already returned the snitch into the care of Madame Hooch, I could still feel the shape of the small ball in my hand. Someone clapped me on my shoulder and I grinned at them, a feeling of pride swelling up in my chest. As the dozens of Slytherins around me began to head back into the castle, I glanced around. I wasn't sure why, but I wanted to see how Weasley was reacting. By the time I spotted her flaming red hair, she was in the middle of a crowd of eager Gryffindors who were also leading her, and the rest of the Gryffindor half of the team, back into the castle. Quickly, I averted my gaze before anyone could notice what I was looking at.

"Hey, Scorp, good job!" Emmanuel exclaimed as he came up to my side, clapping me on the shoulder. The two of us began to follow the sea of people back up towards the castle.

"Thanks Emmanuel." I replied, my smile slowly turning into a smirk. "How much did you make off the game?" I questioned, recalling that he had told me about the bet he had made with Molly Weasley.

"What?" Emmanuel questioned as we walked back into the castle. The babble around me was so loud that I could barely hear Emmanuel, despite the fact that he was standing right next to me.

"The bet Emmanuel!" I said, raising my voice so that he could hear me.

"Oh." Emmanuel's face lit up in realization and he laughed. "Molly and I didn't bet money. Well, at least I didn't."

Confusion came over me and I furrowed my brows. We had now entered the dungeons and the noise level had grown. No doubt there was quite a party going on in the common room. "What did you bet?" I questioned, curiosity coming over me.

"I get to take her out to dinner on our next Hogsmeade trip." Emmanuel responded. He chuckled and winked at me before clapping me on the back and disappearing into the crowd. Though my feet continued to shuffle forward, the pace at which I was moving greatly slowed. My brows furrowed and I looked at Emmanuel's back in confusion. "What?" I exclaimed loudly, despite the fact that Emmanuel was long gone.

"What, what Scorpius?" Someone questioned as they came up behind me. I blinked and turned to see Claudia next to me. I frowned but decided against telling Claudia what Emmanuel had just said to me. "Nothing." I muttered with a wave of my hand. Though I didn't approve of Emmanuel's decision it wasn't my secret to tell. Claudia shrugged her shoulders and decided to drop the subject, realizing that I wasn't going to let her in on whatever it was that was going on inside my head.

"Cheer up Scorp, you should be overjoyed that you pulled off the win despite having to work with the Gryffindors." Claudia piped up, her high-pitched voice overflowing with pep. As we stepped into the common room, I forced a grin and nodded my head. My mind jumped to right before the match, when I had purposely picked an argument with Weasley to get her to let go of her nerves. I could have let Weasley continue to act morose, but I knew that she would play a key role in keeping the team together during the match. I wouldn't admit this to anyone, but working with the Gryffindors, though tough, was probably better than working with any of the other two houses. I doubted either the Ravenclaw or the Hufflepuff captain would have dared to stand up to me and help coordinate the team. Claudia nudged me in my side, causing me to snap out of my thoughts. Glancing around the common room, I took in the decorations and upon taking a deep breath I noticed the strong smell of fire whiskey.

I smirked, "I'll go change and come down in a few minutes." I whispered to Claudia as I placed a hand on the small of her back. The thin brunette smiled at me and with that, I turned and walked up to my dormitory. The dorm was empty seeing as how everyone else was down in the common room, enjoying the celebration. I peeled off my wet uniform and glanced down at the bruise on my arm that Belby had caused when we had been vying for the snitch. I frowned and touched the spot on my arm, flinching slightly. With a sigh, I turned around and grabbed clean clothes out of my trunk and quickly got dressed. I ran my hands through my wet hair, patting it down. I usually took more time and care in pulling my appearance together but I knew that if I didn't head down to the common room soon Claudia would come up and see what was taking me so long. If Claudia came up here, we probably wouldn't head down into the common room and I so desperately wanted a drink.

Just as I had predicted, the moment I opened the dormitory door, I spotted Claudia heading up the stairs. "I'm done, no need to come up here." I called to her. A crestfallen look overtook her face but a second later she got over it and shrugged her shoulders before heading back down the stairs. Rolling my eyes, I followed her down the stairs and into the common room. Cheers erupted in the common room as I entered and with a smirk I held up my hand in recognition. Someone shoved a drink into my hand and I gulped it down without a second thought.

"So, Malfoy, tell us how you did it!" Sixth year Ryan Campbell called from the armchair by the fireplace. "It seems like you pulled off a miracle considering you had to work with both a Weasley _and_ a Potter." A laugh erupted throughout the common room.

I smirked, "It was absolute torture." I replied, resulting in another laugh rippling through the common room. I glanced to my right to see Robert Nott wearing an uncomfortable smile on his face. Out of all of us, Robert had, had the easiest time with falling into the routine of working with the Gryffindors. Shifting my gaze, I looked back out towards the common room. "But let's not ruin the good mood by talking about Neanderthal Gryffindors. I'll tell you all about my great ordeal later." A few people chuckled as the house agreed to go back to the party. I smirked and nodded my head before downing the rest of my drink.

**So there you go, a little bit more of Scorpius for you at the end. Hope you liked it!**


	9. I bet you

**A/N: Hey everyone! I meant to have this chapter out earlier but I caught a cold so the writing was a little slow over the past couple of days. For all of you reading, thanks, and I hope you're all enjoying it. A huge thanks goes out to those people who have reviewed and alerted/favorited. I'm flying back out to school tomorrow so updates won't be coming as often as they have since the new year but I will make a huge effort to update as often as possible. Suggestions? Let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned, but I don't!**

Sundays – the bane of many a students existence. It's the day when most people realize that they have yet to touch any of the work that was assigned on Friday afternoon. Usually, for me, Sunday was a pretty light day. After all, the work ethic instilled in me by my mother meant that I finished most of my work on Saturday afternoon. This time around however, because of the Quidditch match, I hadn't cracked a single book open since Friday morning. Sighing, I looked at myself in the mirror. It was already two in the afternoon and I hadn't accomplished anything. It wasn't really all that surprising considering that I hadn't gone to sleep until about five in the morning thanks to the victory celebration that had been raging down in the common room. Now however, the match was over, and so was the party so it was time to get back to work. I pinched my cheeks to add some color to my face and then tied my hair up into the usual ponytail. Though I was far from looking my best, I deemed my appearance acceptable enough for a trip to the library. Clearing my throat, I walked back into the dormitory to collect my books. A few of the other seventh year girls had already gotten up and left, however, there were still a number of girls fast asleep. Having gathered my books, some ink and a few quills I quietly left the dorm and began my descent into the common room.

Lily was already waiting for me in the common room but once I reached the bottom of the stairs I took a few moments to look around. Last night, the common room had been an utter disaster. Streamers had been strung up all over the ceiling (eventually landing on the floor), confetti had littered every surface, and there had been empty butterbeer and firewhiskey bottles in any and every place one could imagine. At some point in the early morning however, the house elves had cleaned the place up, returning it to a pristine condition.

"Ready?"

I blinked and turned my head towards the couch where Lily was sitting. I took in her expression to notice that she still looked quite tired. I smiled warmly at her before nodding my head. Lily and I had decided to study together every Sunday from now until the end of the year exams. It was quite logical considering I had N.E.W.T.S to focus on and she had her O.W.L.S to worry about – we would keep each other focused. Lily rose from the couch and the two of us headed out of the common room and down the stairs towards the library. Conversation was kept at a minimum because we were both still rather exhausted but because Lily and I had known one another for fifteen years, it was not an awkward walk.

Upon reaching the library, I took note of the fact that the only people in the library at the moment were a handful of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Despite myself, I smirked. Clearly there hadn't been any celebrations in those common rooms last night. "Let's head to the back." I whispered to Lily. My cousin nodded and the two of us headed to the back where we commandeered a table meant to seat six. I took the seat closest to the aisle as Lily sat on the other side of the table, all the way at the other end near the book stacks. The two of us spread out our books and got to work.

The sound of students being chided for talking drifted to my ears and I looked up from my History of Magic notes. Lily and I had been in the library for four hours now and though we had taken small breaks, our work had gone virtually uninterrupted. I glanced up from my notes and let out a yawn. I quickly covered my mouth before leaning back in my chair and stretching my arms out. For the past two hours I had been busy working on my individual project for History of Magic. Professor Binns had assigned me the coup d'état of 1865. It was a time in wizarding history when a few members of the Department of International Magical Cooperation had tried to unseat the Minister of Magic. I was thoroughly enjoying the research and thus did not feel the need to take another break. I returned my gaze to the large textbook I had opened directly to my right.

"Nose buried in a book again Weasley? How very typical." A far too familiar voice mocked.

An involuntary groan escaped my lips and I rolled my eyes before I slowly lifted my head to see Malfoy standing a few feet from my table. Beside him stood a tall, thin, pretty brunette Slytherin girl. I arched a brow, taking in her features. She had big brown eyes and blindingly white teeth. At the moment, her thin lips were smirking at me.

"Making fun of my study habits again Malfoy? How very typical." I countered, leaning back into my chair and offering Malfoy and the Slytherin girl a sickly sweet smile. A few strands of hair had come out of my ponytail and I quickly brushed them out of my face.

"If the insult still fits…" Malfoy trailed off, raising both brows at me, looking at me sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Lily's eyes darting between Malfoy and myself. Her quill was still firmly in her hand, the tip a few centimeters above her roll of parchment. "Yes, I am still very studious. How very observant of you." I placed my quill down onto the open textbook and crossed my legs, "But you're getting very predictable with the insults, I'm highly disappointed in you." I pouted, sticking out my lower lip.

"Studious? Is that how you chose to describe it?" Malfoy questioned, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Uh, yes?" I replied. My eyes wandered over to his face and I took in his grey eyes. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes and in the back of my head I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. Malfoy chuckled and shook his head before he sauntered over to my table and put his hand on the chair directly across from me. I arched a brow at him but didn't say anything. More than anything I wanted to finish my work but I was also curious as to what evil was going on in Malfoy's sick, twisted mind. The girl he was with took a few steps towards him. As he pulled out the chair, Malfoy glanced over his shoulder and looked at the girl.

"You can go now Claudia." Malfoy stated simply.

Claudia's jaw dropped and she looked at Malfoy in disbelief. A smile twitched at the corners of my lips and I dropped my gaze, pursing my lips in an attempt to suppress my laughter.

"Fine." Claudia huffed before turning on her heel and walking towards the front of library. Now that Claudia was gone, I looked up to see Malfoy sitting in the chair across from me, his hands folded in front of him.

"What is it Malfoy?" I questioned, a sigh escaping my lips. I tilted my head to the right, waiting for him to spit out what he wanted to say. Malfoy didn't reply, but instead he dropped his gaze and began rifling through my notes. I frowned and snatched my notes out of his hands, "What is it Malfoy?" I repeated, tucking my notes under the textbook in front of me.

"Rigid," Malfoy spoke the word very deliberately, annunciating each syllable separately. His tongue clicked against his teeth upon pronouncing the 'd'. He leaned back into his seat and placed his hands behind his head.

"Excuse me?" I narrowed my eyes at Malfoy in confusion.

"Rigid." Malfoy replied, smirking. "You're rigid Weasley, just admit it. It's the day after we pulled a huge victory and you're in here studying as if it's the week before NEWTS."

"I am not rigid!" I exclaimed in indignation. My blue eyes widened and I glowered at Malfoy. "You arrogant prat." I hissed under my breath. As I looked at Malfoy, I could see his smirk widening as I became more and more enraged. As I bit down onto my lower lip, I inhaled deeply. "I simply don't want to leave this project to the last minute." I had lowered and calmed my voice, but my heart was still pounding against my chest. "Yes, we pulled off a major victory yesterday and I celebrated last night. It's half past six by now and I don't see any reason why I should put off my studies any longer." I reasoned, sounding perfectly rational.

Malfoy laughed and leaned forward. "See, that's exactly what I mean Weasley." He said in a singsong voice.

"Malfoy, why don't you just leave her alone?" Lily questioned in an exasperated tone from the other side of the table. I turned my head to see her glaring at the blond Slytherin. Malfoy frowned and turned his head to respond when I gave him a sharp kick under the table.

"Bloody hell Weasley! What the hell was that for?" Malfoy grunted as he rubbed his leg under the table. I smirked as he winced.

Ignoring the profanities that Malfoy was muttering under his breath I turned my head to look at Lily who was currently trying to stifle her laughter. "It's fine Lils, I got this." I reassured her before turning my attention to the displeased young man sitting across from me.

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" I asked, exasperated, acting as if I hadn't intentionally bruised his leg. I had really been aiming for his ego.

Malfoy glowered at me for a few moments before his face assumed the neutral expression I was used to seeing on him. "You just come off as very rigid Weasley, very straight-laced and well, frankly," Malfoy leaned forward as if he was about to let me in on a secret, "_boring_." He whispered. He let the word hang in the air for a few moments before he chuckled and leaned back into his seat.

For a couple of seconds, I kept my mouth shut as I sat there and gave Malfoy a horrified expression. "I am not _boring_." I hissed at him. I honestly resented Malfoy's accusation. While it was true that I didn't make a spectacle of myself like James, Hugo, and Fred did, that did not mean I liked to sit in the Gryffindor common room knitting. "Just because you aren't aware of my daily activities does not mean I'm boring." I snapped.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that the silly stunts you pull with your cousins pass as entertaining amongst your Gryffindor friends." Malfoy waved his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "But you come off as being extremely vanilla. Just look at you, you're in the library with three textbooks open in front of you, you always wear that same high ponytail and your uniform is always exactly by the books." Malfoy ran his eyes over me as if he were sizing up a piece of meat. "I bet that it would drive you absolutely insane to not follow the rules for even a day. I bet that you couldn't take it." Malfoy leaned forward, speaking the words at a dangerously low whisper.

I pursed my lips at him and drummed my fingers against the table. "Oh please Malfoy, all I would have to do is act a bit like you for a day. I can go around looking disheveled and acting like people should kiss the very ground I walk on."

Malfoy laughed, "You think you can act like me for a day?" He questioned before laughing once again.

I was unfazed by his disbelief. "I don't think that I can, I _know_ that I can. You on the other hand, I doubt you could manage to act like a rule-abiding student for a day." I countered.

Malfoy scoffed, "All I would have to do was act like you Weasley. Prim and proper and extremely righteous. It sounds painful but extremely simple to accomplish."

"You'd mess up within the first hour." I gave Malfoy a sickly sweet smile and batted my lashes at him.

"You're on Weasley!" Malfoy exclaimed, seemingly indignant that I had the audacity to doubt him. "Tomorrow, you have to act like me for a day and I have to act like you for a day."

"Fine, it's a deal." The words spilled out of my mouth before I had a moment to consider exactly what I was getting myself into. "What do I get if I win. Which, I will." The competitive side of my personality was rearing its large ugly head, eclipsing the rational side.

"Oh, so you want to up the ante, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, seemingly surprised. He arched both brows and slowly drummed his fingers against the wooden table as he thought. "Okay, for the next house competition challenge, if I win, you have to agree with all of my ideas and if you win, I have to agree with all of your ideas."

A horrified look came over my face at Malfoy's expression. I couldn't imagine having to relinquish all of my control and go along with Malfoy's ideas. "Fine." I quickly replied. Malfoy smirked and slammed his hand against the table, smirking wildly. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow Weasley." With that Malfoy stood up and walked off, laughing all the way out of the library.

"Rosie?" Lily asked a few minutes after Malfoy had walked away from our table. "Hm?" I questioned, turning my head to look at her.

"What did you just get yourself into?" She questioned.

In that instant I realized exactly what I had just agreed to. A groan escaped my lips and I placed my forehead in my hand. "I have no idea." I muttered truthfully. Though I had been quick to make fun of Malfoy's often disheveled state, I had no idea how he managed to make the messy look seem attractive. On top of all that, I didn't think I was confident enough to pull off his holier-than-thou attitude for a whole day. I heard Lily sigh and the ruffling of paper soon followed. I picked my head up and looked over to see her gathering up her notes and her books.

"Come on Rosie, let's go." She said upon seeing that I was watching her.

"Go where?" I questioned.

"Well, if you're going to pull off this bet against Malfoy we have to get you prepared for tomorrow. I have in mind a few girls we could ask for help. I will not have you loosing this bet. I don't think James lost a single bet while he was in school and I know he'll be ticked if you ruin the reputation he thinks he's established for the family." Lily finished packing her things up and she threw her bag over her shoulder. Upon seeing that I wasn't making a single move to get up she placed a hand on her hip and set her gaze on me.

"But Lils, I'm not done working." I protested, motioning to the open textbooks still lying on the table.

Lily cleared her throat and lowered her chin, fixing her green eyes on me. She looked at me over her nose and pursed her lips. The only other time I had ever seen that look before had been when Aunt Ginny had been particularly peeved over a stunt James had pulled. I sighed, knowing very well that I was not going to win. Sighing, I held my hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. I give in." I muttered. Lily's face instantly lit up and she grinned at me. Shaking my head, I stood up and gathered my things before following my younger cousin out of the library.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting Rose, gosh. You're making this harder for me than the time I put makeup on my five year old brother." Emily Boot chided as she applied a bit of what I could only assume was eyeshadow.

I groaned, resisting the urge to fidget in my seat. "Guys, you've been at this for the last twenty minutes, I'm getting impatient." I muttered. Usually my morning hair and make-up routine took under ten minutes and twenty minutes seemed excessive to me. A few of the girls in the room laughed. "Rose, for some people it take a lot longer than twenty minutes to get ready so stop complaining." Emily added. My only response was a heavy sigh.

"There, you're done!" Lily exclaimed.

"Finally." I muttered under my breath as I opened my eyes. Upon opening my eyes I had to admit that I was a bit startled to see at least six pairs of eyes looking right at me. In the back of my mind I wondered if it had really taken the effort of six different girls to make me look something other than "rigid". A sigh of relief left my lips upon noticing that only two of them appeared to have been working on me – one doing my makeup and the other doing my hair. Clearing my throat, I stood up and began to turn to walk over to the mirror on the other side of the dorm.

"Wait!" Emily exclaimed, grabbing my arm and holding me in place.

"What now?" I questioned. While I appreciated the fact that some of the girls had agreed to help me with this bet I was becoming quite annoyed at all the effort it was requiring. Emily smirked and walked over to stand in front of me. Before I even knew what she was doing, she had rolled up my skirt hiking it several inches above its usual length so that it now hit my mid-thigh. I looked down at my legs, suddenly feeling as if they were very bare. Emily used that moment in which I was distracted to unbutton two more of the buttons on my shirt. I failed to see how showing cleavage was going to help me win this bet.

"Emily, what are you doing?" I hissed at the smiling girl in front of me. Emily merely laughed and rolled her eyes before holding her index finger up at me, indicating that I should wait a moment. Nervously, I began to chew on my bottom lip as I watched Emily dig around in her trunk. I had yet to see the full effect of all the work the girls had done on me but I was already starting to feel uncomfortable in the short skirt and the unbuttoned shirt. In my book, cleavage and leg were for special occasions only, not for school. At this point I sincerely doubted that I'd be able to muster up the self-confidence to act like Malfoy for a whole day. After rummaging around in her trunk for a few minutes, Emily pulled out a pair of black pumps and held them up triumphantly as she turned to look at me.

"Put these on." She commanded, holding out the shiny black shoes. Sighing, I kicked off the black flats and took the shoes, slowly putting them on. By this point I knew it would be absolutely pointless to utter even a single word of protest. "Happy?" I questioned once I had changed my shoes. I placed my hands on my hips and glowered at Emily. The peppy girl merely nodded her head and shoved me in the direction of the mirror. I sighed and looked up. My sigh was caught in my throat as I was startled by my own appearance. Instead of the usual ponytail I wore, my hair was currently down and falling around my shoulders in soft waves. On top of the usual concealer I wore, the girls had applied a bit of eyeshadow and mascara to bring out my eyes. My lips were shiny with gloss and slightly pinker than usual. My eyes traveled away from my face and down to examine the rest of my body. Considering the fact that I stood at a good 5 feet and 9 inches, my legs were pretty long, but in the heels Emily had provided for me, they looked even longer.

"I look like a tramp." The words left my lips causing the girls around me to protest vehemently. I continued to look at myself in the mirror and despite myself I felt a bit of pride. I may have looked a touch slutty, but overall I looked nice.

"Oh come off it Rosie, I know you like it." Lily said, an exasperated tone in her voice. I glanced at her out of the corners of my eyes to see her smirking at me. All I could do was roll my eyes. Lily laughed at me before she grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the mirror. "Come on, let's go. Time to win another bet for the Weasley - Potter clan." Lily pulled me along towards the stairs that would take us down into the common room. My heels clicked against the floor and as we passed my bed I grabbed my bag and one of the textbooks still lying on top of my bed. As we left the dorm I turned my head and shot a helpless look at Emily who decided that the only thing she could do was laugh at my predicament.

As we descended into the common room I saw a few of the Gryffindors do double takes as they saw me. The unknown sensation of being self-conscious bubbled in my stomach and I chewed on my bottom lip. Upon leaving the common room, Lily turned around, took one look at me and sighed. Lily grabbed my shoulders and focused her green eyes on my blue ones. "Uh, Lils, what are you doing?" I questioned.

"Rosie, man up." She blurted out. All I could do was stare at her incredulously. "You made this bet with Malfoy, you look great and now it's time for you to act like an annoying prat." Lily grinned at me and batted her lashes. A smile slowly spread out across my face and I sighed helplessly. Lily was two years my junior and yet here she was, giving me advice.

"You're right." I said, admitting defeat as I threw my hands up.

"What was that?" Lily questioned as we once more began to walk. She put her hand behind her ear and smirked, "Do you think I can get that in writing?"

Rolling my eyes, I gave her a playful shove, "Don't push your luck dear." A few moments later we entered the Great Hall and I repeated Lily's earlier words in my head as we walked towards our usual seats. Albus and Hugo were both busy finishing some homework and so they didn't see me coming.

"Hey guys." I greeted, giving them a small smile, doing my best to act as if nothing was different. The two boys looked up and muttered their greetings before returning to their homework. A second later however, both of them slowly raised their heads, taking in my appearance. Looks of horror came over both their faces and for a second, I thought Hugo was going to leap at me across the table.

"Rosie, what are you wearing?" He questioned. "Here, put this on." He said, his words rushed as he flung his jacket at me. Startled, I caught the jacket and quickly threw it right back at him. I placed a hand on my thin hip and glowered at him. Part of me found it endearing that my younger brother was acting so protective, but for the most part I was annoyed by the fact that he was acting like our father.

"I'm wearing my uniform Hugo, please stop acting like Dad." I replied, taking my seat across from him and Albus. Beside me, Lily chuckled before sitting down next to me.

Albus leaned forward, a concerned look on his face. "Rosie, what is this all about?" He questioned, "I have to tell guys to stop looking at you enough as it is." He hissed, widening his eyes. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I loved my cousins dearly, but this was the downside to the fact that so many of them were male.

"It's not about anything," I replied innocently, lying through my teeth. "I just thought it was time for a change." Both Albus and Hugo looked horrified and for a second I thought that both of them were going to have heart attacks. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and realized that if I wanted them to survive the day I would have to tell them the truth. "I made a bet with Malfoy." I muttered. Almost instantly, their expressions changed.

"Well, why didn't you just tell us?" Albus demanded. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the food in front of me. Clearly my family had no objection to me getting dolled up as long as it was for the purposes of showing up Scorpius Malfoy.

"How long is this bet supposed to last?" Hugo asked nervously. With a chuckle I looked up at him, "Just today." My younger brother breathed a sigh of relief and I reached over the table, ruffling his sandy brown hair. While I had inherited the fiery Weasley hair, Hugo had inherited my mothers brown hair. Hugo swatted my hand away, annoyed at my actions. Nevertheless, he looked relieved and muttered a "Thank Merlin" under his breath. Now that Albus and Hugo had been introduced to my look for the day, we began to exchange the usual mindless, breakfast chatter. As I brought a spoonful of cereal up to my mouth, I felt Lily nudging me in the ribs.

I jolted forward and the contents of the spoon spilled back into the bowl. Sighing, I turned my head, "What?" I questioned Lily. Lily smirked at me and nodded over towards the front of the Great Hall. My eyes traveled across the room and I took note of the fact that Malfoy had decided that it was time to grace us with his presence. As he walked forward, I took in his appearance – his blond hair was combed down, his shirt was fully buttoned and tucked into his pants, and for what was probably the first time in his life, his tie was properly tied around his neck. I arched a brow and took in the two textbooks he was carrying. On top of that, there wasn't a single girl trailing behind him. Despite myself, I began to laugh. The look was extremely unnatural for Malfoy and from the way his jaw was clenched I could tell he was uncomfortable. At least I wasn't the only one.

My eyes followed his figure until he had sat down at the Slytherin table. Malfoy opened a book and began to read, much like I usually did around exam time. What I did next is something I only did because I was emboldened by this bet I had made with Malfoy. I stood up and explained to Lily, Albus and Hugo that I was going to pay Malfoy a quick visit. Albus and Hugo looked utterly horrified and though Lily was smirking wildly, she looked a bit surprised as well. I resisted the urge to bite my bottom lip as I walked down the aisle so that I could make my way around the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. The founders knew what they were doing when they decided to put the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables on opposite sides of the Great Hall. In order to keep myself from becoming too nervous, I focused on the sound of my heels clicking against the stone floor. I could sense some people looking at me but I avoided their stares by keeping my gaze focused on the two large oak doors that led into the Great Hall.

I soon found myself standing at the very back of the Slytherin table and I took a deep breath before walking towards the sport where Malfoy was seated. Claudia was currently sitting in front of him, an annoyed expression on her face. I could gather that this was because Malfoy seemed far more interested in the book he was reading than in talking to her. Within moments I was standing right next to Malfoy and I cleared my throat, "Malfoy." I greeted, doing my best to imitate the smirk he usually greeted me with. Malfoy peeled his eyes away from his textbook and turned around, his eyes traveling up my body until he was finally looking me in the eyes.

"Weasley." He greeted in return, a hint of surprise evident in his tone of voice. A smirk twitched at the corners of his lips but he quickly pursed his lips to prevent it from coming to fruition. After all, well-behaved model students did not go around displaying the infamous Malfoy smirk.

"What are you reading?" I questioned, crossing my arms and shifting my weight to my right foot. I leaned forward in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the words on the pages of the open book.

"Nothing too interesting, just reading about my assignment for History of Magic. You know, I want to make sure I get started now so I don't leave it for the last minute." Malfoy widened his grey eyes and nodded his head vigorously in order to feign sincerity. I could see the faint outline of a smirk gracing his lips. Ah, so now he was teasing me.

I arched a brow at him and pursed my lips. Slowly, I let my lips spread out into a smirk. "Sounds interesting." I said, feigning a bored tone in my voice. "Just, don't keep your nose buried in that book all day Malfoy, you might become _boring_." I warned, remembering how he had called me boring the previous day. A chuckle passed through Malfoy's lips, "I'll keep that in mind Weasley."

"You do that." I encouraged, nodding my face. I gave him a sickly sweet smile before turning on my heel and walking off. As I neared the doors to the Great Hall, I noticed Frank just walking in. "Frank!" I exclaimed, waving him over. Frank turned his head, his eyes widening as he took me in.

"Rosie, is that you?" He questioned, chuckling, an incredulous tone in his voice.

"Yeah. Well, sort of…" I replied, trailing off and shrugging my shoulders. "I made a bet with Malfoy yesterday that involves me dressing like this for a day." Frank raised his eyebrows and nodded, holding me at arms length and looking me over. I blushed, feeling a bit uncomfortable over the amount of skin I was exposing to scrutiny.

"You look good." Frank grinned as he brought his eyes back up to my face. Despite the fact that my cheeks were still a bit flushed, I smiled, "Thanks." I replied. Frank nodded and I turned my head to the left, trying to see if I could spot where Albus, Hugo and Lily were seated so I could point Frank to them. However, as I did so, I caught a glimpse of Malfoy peering up at me. I remained silent for a moment, what would a female version of Scorpius Malfoy do in this situation? Turning my head to face Frank once more, I smiled broadly at him, "Mind walking me to class?" I questioned, tilting my head slightly to the right.

At first, Frank seemed a bit taken a back. For a moment I thought he was going to ask me why exactly I felt the need to have an escort. However, seconds later, Frank grinned at me and nodded his head. "Yeah, of course." Theatrically, Frank held his arm out for me to take, causing me to laugh. "Thanks." I said, giving him a warm smile. In the back of my mind I knew that I was going to be embarrassed by a number of the actions I took today, but at the moment, I was concentrating on showing Malfoy that Rose Weasley was neither boring, nor was she rigid.


	10. i wanted love, but not for myself

**A/N: Here is the next installment! I had a bit of writers block, but I worked it out today and finished the chapter. Thank you to all of you who have put this story on your alert list, and/or on your favorite list. It means a lot! I also want to thank those of you who have reviewed - I love reading your reviews and knowing what you guys think. Any ideas for the plot of the story or improvements are more than welcome. There's some stuff from Scorpius' point of view in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy that. Sometimes I find that when I write a chapter there's a song I listen to over and over again and this time it was The Next Girl by The Black Keys. I guess it's the soundtrack to this chapter? Just thought I would share in case anyone wanted to listen to it while reading. Anyway, enjoy! Let me know what you think!**

I looked like some sort of criminal. At the current moment, instead of joining the majority of my History of Magic classmates in front of the classroom door, I was hiding behind the corner, peering out every now and again to see whether or not Professor Binns had started allowing people to enter the room. After Transfiguration had ended I had headed right for the History of Magic classroom, forgetting that unlike every other day, I wasn't supposed to spend the spare twenty minutes sitting in front of the classroom reading. So now I was reduced to hiding and hoping Malfoy didn't turn around and spot me during one of the moments when I had my head poking out from around the corner. He was standing right in front of the classroom door ensuring that he would be the first one in. On the one hand this showed some real dedication to our little bet, but on the other hand I had the feeling he was exaggerating some things just to make fun of me. A scowl crossed my face at the thought, two could play that game.

From my hiding spot I heard a door creak open and I sucked in a deep breath. With my back pressed against the wall I poked my head out from behind the wall to see that it had in fact been the sound of the door to the history of magic room. Malfoy began to shuffle forward and I quickly pulled back to ensure that he wouldn't see me while entering the room. In all honesty I was a little bit paranoid but I simply did not want to risk the embarrassment of loosing this bet. After the last person had entered the classroom I counted to ten in my head before slowly making my way over to the room. Earlier today I had found the clicking sound my heels made to be comforting, now however, I was distinctly aware of how loud the sound was in contrast to the silent classroom, and I was a little bit embarrassed. The class had already started taking down the notes Professor Binns had put up on the board, and a few people looked up thanks to the sound my shoes had made. Making a concentrated effort, I avoided making eye contact with any of the people who had looked up, and kept my gaze forward. I noticed that Malfoy was sitting in my usual seat, so I abruptly turned to the left and took his seat all the way in the back.

I felt weird sitting in Malfoy's seat so for a few seconds I sat very still and glanced around awkwardly. Sucking in a breath, I set my bag down and leaned back into my seat. Noticing that the seat next to me was free, I smirked as I stretched my legs out onto it. My action garnered me a few odd looks but I ignored them; this was actually quite comfortable. Settled in, I turned my attention to the work on the board and began to take down the notes as meticulously as ever. Malfoy had said that I had to act like him for a day and despite his nonchalant behavior towards school his grades led me to believe that at the very least he took really good notes.

"Can anyone tell me what led to Minister Sanders resigning from office in nineteen ten?"

I glanced up from my notes and noticed that Malfoy's hand had already shot up. He was leaning forward in his seat, an eager expression on his face. My jaw clenched and I narrowed my eyes at the back of Malfoy's head. I _did not_ look that ridiculous.

"Yes Mister Malfoy?" Professor Binns, despite his usual monotone voice, seemed surprised that Malfoy had volunteered. After all, up until now, the only other times Malfoy had ever piped up in class had been when he felt the need to correct someone. Either that or to make some mean, snarky comment.

"Well, his policies were facing record low approval ratings and there were talks of the Wizengamot forcibly removing him from office for corruption reasons so he resigned to prevent that embarrassment." Malfoy finished answering and nodded his head, keeping a perfectly straight and stiff posture.

"That's not entirely true." I piped up from the back. My legs were still stretched out on the seat next to me, I had my left elbow propped up on the desk with my chin in my hand. Professor Binns turned to look at me and for a moment I was embarrassed by the fact that I was so slumped over in his classroom. On top of that, I had, had the audacity to speak without raising my hand.

"Elaborate for us Miss Weasley."

"Well, it's true that he was really unpopular at the time, but everyone knew that the Wizengamot would have never found him guilty of anything. They just wanted to scare him, and the Minister knew that." I shifted my gaze over to Malfoy who didn't appear to be too pleased by the fact that I was correcting him. I smirked at him and widened my eyes before turning my gaze back onto Professor Binns. "The truth of the matter is that he struck a deal with some of his critics in the Ministry. They had something on him, no one is sure what exactly that is to this day, but what we do know is that they were criminal charges of some sort, way beyond corruption. So, he resigned, and his critics kept what they had a secret." I leaned back into my seat and looked at Malfoy, shooting him a vastly exaggerated smirk as I batted my lashes at him.

"Very good Miss Weasley." Professor Binns commended.

"Thank You Professor. I think that Mister Malfoy should brush up on his facts, don't you Professor?" The class burst into giggles and I bit down onto my lower lip, surprised that the words had come out of my mouth. Sure, I had no problem insulting Malfoy in private or in front of his friends, but I usually held my tongue in front of the Professors.

"I'm not sure that's for you to say Miss Weasley." Professor Binns looked at me, a confused look on his ghostly face. He had never had to remark on my attitude before and I was sure he, along with the rest of the class, was wondering what had gotten into me.

"Sorry Professor," I blurted out. As soon as I spoke the words however, I saw Malfoy smirking from ear to ear. Clearly, he was thinking that I was on my way to loosing the bet, for he was never one to apologize for his bad attitude. No way in hell was I going to hand the victory to him that easily. "I guess I just enjoy being remarkably rude and insanely obnoxious." I added and watched as the smirk faded from Malfoy's face. I smirked and raised my brows at Malfoy, letting him know that he was the one I was thinking of when I had made that comment.

"Miss Weasley!" For the first time ever, Professor Binns actually sounded upset. A string of profanities was running through my head, cursing me for allowing myself to be dragged into this bet with Malfoy. What had I been thinking? "What has gotten into you?"

I was silent for a moment as my mind searched for an explanation. I couldn't very well tell him about the bet. "I think the change of scenery is making me cranky. Or maybe it's just Mister Malfoy's seat…" I trailed off, shifting and looking down at the seat in a confused manner.

When I looked up Professor Binns shook his head. "Whatever it is Miss Weasley, just don't do it again."

I pressed my lips together in order to keep my mouth shut. I didn't want to say anything that would put my position in this bet, or in this class, in jeopardy. Especially not after the gems that I had let slip earlier. Professor Binns turned his attention back to lecturing and I sighed, leaning back into my seat. I glanced over at Malfoy to see him looking at me over his shoulder. Arching a brow, I leaned forward in my seat letting a smirk slowly spread out across my face. Malfoy pursed his lips and nodded his head slowly before turning around in his seat. I wasn't one hundred percent sure what Malfoy and I had just communicated to one another other but I was pretty sure the ante had just been upped.

Sighing, I leaned back into my seat once more and turned my attention to the front of the classroom. I listened as Professor Binns began to elaborate on the story behind Minister Sanders' resignation from office. From time to time I would jot down a few notes, but for the most part I was preoccupied with thinking about what Malfoy would do to get back at me for showing him up in class. I couldn't think of anything that he could do without costing himself the bet and that scared me. He would either wait until tomorrow to get back at me, or he was so much of an evil genius that he could get back at my today while still retaining the façade of a well behaved student. At the present moment I wasn't sure which was worse. I faintly heard Professor Binns dismissing the class and I blinked. Realizing I had spaced out, I sighed and glanced around to see that a number of people had already left the classroom and the rest were rapidly walking towards the door.

Quickly, I gathered my things and shoved my books into my bag before standing up and swinging the bag over my shoulder. Before I headed towards the door, I glanced around the room and took note of the fact that Malfoy had already left the room. Confused as to why I had even bothered to look for Malfoy, I turned on my heel and walked out of the classroom.

"Hey, Rose!"

I stopped upon hearing my name and with a quick glance to my right I noticed Frank heading my way. "Hey, what's up?" I questioned with a smile. Though I wasn't sure what Frank was doing hanging around my class I had to admit that I was happy he was here. Frank's presence was comforting and I could use a conversation with him to get my mind off of whatever Malfoy could be planning to get back at me.

"Nothing," Frank replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he walked up to me. "Just thought we could walk to lunch together."

"Yeah sure." I replied, nodding my head before I started to walk. Frank walked beside me, keeping one hand in his pocket.

"Do you want me to hold that?" Frank questioned, pointing to the history of magic textbook in my arms. Grinning, I shook my head, "No thanks, I got it. I'm a big girl, I can hold my own books." I teased, letting out a small laugh. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a bit of color creeping up into Frank's face as if he were embarrassed.

Clearing his throat, Frank nodded his head before he touched the back of neck. "Oh yeah, of course, I wasn't implying anything by it…" He trailed off, giving me a small smile. I frowned, slightly confused, "I know Frank, don't worry about it." I reassured, "I was just teasing you."

"Oh…" Frank glanced at me and gave me an apologetic smile. I could sense that there was something bothering Frank but I decided to ignore it. After all, there was no use in trying to get it out of him. After all these years I knew that if Frank wanted to tell me something he would eventually come out with it. So, instead I tried to lighten the mood. With a smile on my face, I stood on my tiptoes and ruffled his hair. Frank chuckled and swatted my hand away.

After that I thought that Frank had taken his mind off of whatever had been bothering him. However, just as we were about to head down the stairs to the ground level, he stopped. I too stopped in my tracks and turned around, frowning.

"What's wrong Frank?" I questioned. Frank glanced around nervously and bit down onto his lower lip. I narrowed my eyes at him and placed a hand on my hip. It wasn't like Frank to keep things from me and honestly I was beginning to get a little worried.

"Come here." Frank finally said as he motioned for me to follow him around the corner. Sighing, I followed him. "Come on Frank, out with it. I'm starving."

Frank turned to look at me and I could tell he was nervous. "Rosie, I want to ask you something. I've been meaning to ask you this for a while but…" Frank trailed off and I took a few steps towards him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Frank, come on, what is it?" I asked softly, "You know you can come to me with anything so just tell me what it is."

Frank looked at me for a few moments as if he was contemplating his next move. The next thing I knew Frank's lips were on mine and he was kissing me. My gut instinct was to kiss back but a few seconds later I realized what was going on and my eyes opened wide in shock. Frank had one hand on my cheek and the other on my waist. I knew that I needed to pull away but I was still so shocked that my brain was not transferring the message to the rest of the body. Plus, much to my surprise, Frank was a pretty good kisser and it was as if my body did not want to give that feeling up.

"I guess I underestimated you Weasley." A voice drawled from down the hall. The sound of Malfoy's voice shocked me back to my senses and I pulled away from Frank and turned my head to see Malfoy smirking at the two of us, his hands in his pockets. His posture was relaxed but there was something about the look in his eyes that screamed annoyed.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here. Just leave her alone." Frank snapped, taking a few steps so he could stand in front of me. Malfoy shifted his gaze onto Frank for a moment and rolled his eyes. "Shut up Longbottom, I'm not doing anything. I'm pretty sure Weasley can take care of herself." He spat, giving a Frank a look of disgust.

I sighed and stepped out from behind Frank. "What do you want Malfoy?" I questioned, placing a hand on my hip. Malfoy looked at me and smirked. Ignoring my question he walked forward and stopped a few feet in front of me. "I guess you're more like me than I thought." He sang, smirking wildly.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, genuinely confused about what he was getting at. Malfoy chuckled, "I'm talking about what you were just doing with Longbottom over here. Very me, the whole making out in the hallway." Malfoy nodded and shot me an exaggerated wink. "Of course, I would never make out with a Longbottom, but I'll allow you that small lapse in judgment considering you're a Gryffindor and can't do any better. Though, I never thought you'd lead someone on like that just to win a bet. That's what I'm most surprised about Weasley. I didn't think you had it in you." Malfoy widened his eyes and smirked, his gaze shifting between Frank and myself.

"Is that why you let me kiss you Rose?" Frank sputtered out from beside me. I turned my head to look at him and I saw the hurt look on his face. I opened my mouth to speak but Frank beat me to the punch. "I can't believe you let me make a fool out of myself just to win a bet." Frank turned on his heel and pushed past me, making his way towards the stairs.

"Frank!" I called after him. Frank however didn't even turn around. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I made a move to follow him but that was when I heard Malfoy chuckling. My head whipped around and I glowered at Malfoy. "What the hell was that?" I asked angrily. I strode towards Malfoy and stood within inches of him. "I didn't even know you were there!" I snapped, pushing his shoulder with my hand.

Arching a brow, Malfoy looked down at his shoulder and wrinkled his nose as if he now needed to disinfect himself. Sighing, Malfoy looked up at me and with a nonchalant look on his face he shrugged his shoulders. "I decided that messing up your little moment over there was worth more than winning our bet."

I stared at Malfoy with an incredulous look on my face. I wasn't sure whether or not this was payback for what I had said in class but I didn't care. Malfoy was even worse than I had thought him to be. Thanks to him one of my oldest friends was furious with me. "You really are something else." I muttered before turning on my heel with every intention to catch up to Frank.

"The bet was for the whole day Weasley!" Malfoy yelled after me, "I may have lost but if you go after him it's a draw!" Despite what Malfoy had just said, I didn't even stop. I merely raised my hand and flicked him off before I turned the corner and ran down the stairs to find Frank. Once I had reached the ground floor I glanced around but he was nowhere to be found. Biting my lip, I glanced into the Great Hall and spotted him sitting at the Gryffindor table with Frederick and Lily. Sucking in a deep breath, I walked into the Great Hall and headed straight for where Frank was sitting. I came to a stop right next to Frank and while both Frederick and Lily greeted me, Frank didn't even look up.

"Frank, can I talk to you?" I asked, doing my best to act as if nothing was wrong. I did not want Lily cornering me and asking questions later.

"Um, I think I'll pass." Frank mumbled under his breath, causing Frederick and Lily to exchange looks.

I sighed, "Please." There was a tone of desperation in my voice and Frank sighed before he stood up. "Fine." He mumbled, still refusing to look at me. Turning on my heel I began to walk out of the Great Hall with Frank following me. Once out in the hall, I turned right and opened the door to one of the empty classrooms. Frank followed me in and shut the door behind him. As I turned around to face him, I saw him standing right next to the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Frank…" I began, taking a step towards him.

"Rose, you said you wanted to talk to me. What is it?" He asked, picking up his head. However, I could tell that his eyes were gazing right over my shoulder.

"Frank, don't be mad at me. I had no idea Malfoy was around, I swear!" I was pleading with him, hoping that he would understand that my actions had in no way been influenced by the bet I had going on with Malfoy. "I would never do that to you." And the truth was, I wouldn't. Frank and I had been friends ever since we had been in diapers and his friendship meant a lot more to me than some bet with Malfoy.

Frank was silent for a few seconds until he finally met my gaze. "Rose, I really like you. I've liked you for a while and when Malfoy said those things I just…" Frank trailed off and dropped his gaze. I bit my lip and sucked in a breath, unsure of what my next move should be.

"Malfoy was just trying to get back at me for embarrassing him in class." I took another few steps towards Frank and when I was close enough, I gingerly placed a hand on his arm.

"So you didn't just kiss me back to win this bet with Malfoy?" Frank questioned, furrowing his brows.

"No, of course not." I replied, giving Frank's upper arm a squeeze.

"So, you'll go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday? On a date?" Frank asked hopefully, his brown eyes wide.

My mind reeled – wait, what?

"Yeah sure." The words spilled out before my brain even had any time to process how the conversation had taken this turn. A wide smile spread out over Frank's face and he leaned in to kiss me again. However, this time, he placed a light kiss on cheek. "Figure we should go on a date before I start snogging you again." Frank gave me a lop-sided grin. An uncomfortable chuckle left my lips and I nodded slowly as I wondered what exactly I had just done.

"I've got to head to class but I'll see you later Rosie." Frank blurted out before he left the classroom, a smile still gracing his face. I raised my hand a waved him off as the door slammed shut.

I groaned and leaned against the closest wall, putting a hand over my eyes. I cared about Frank a lot and yes, he was a good kisser but I simply did not have those feelings for him. Frank was one of my closest and oldest _friends. _ I had only kissed him back because I had been so shocked. I sighed and slid down the wall, tossing aside my bag and the textbook I had been carrying. Why hadn't I just explained to him that I didn't have those feelings for him? I groaned once more. Even though all I had agreed to was one date I knew that I had gotten myself into a far bigger mess. Now that I had agreed to a date in the first place if I let Frank down after that date it would hurt him even more. While the whole situation wasn't Malfoy's fault, he was still to blame for making Frank think that I had only kissed him due to the bet and for that, I was going to find a way to make him pay. Malfoy was an evil prick but that had been way over the line, even for him.

_ Scorpius_

Weasley had more guts and more wit than I had originally given her credit for. Just like I had expected her to, she had corrected the answer I had given for why Minister Sanders had resigned and just like I had expected her to, she had apologized to Binns for insulting me. What I hadn't been expecting her to do however was make that comment about being obnoxious and rude. I let out a frustrated groan as I stalked down the hallway. Clearly getting Weasley to loose this bet was going to be more work than I had anticipated. Frankly, I hadn't expected her to last past breakfast. I also hadn't been prepared for her to put so much effort into her appearance, or for her to look so good. I scowled at the thought and shook my head as if to clear my mind of the image. Weasley did _not _look good; she merely looked _better _than she usually did. That was all. As I turned the corner, hushed voices reached my ears and I froze in my tracks, straining my ears to try and make out as many words as possible. However, I couldn't discern anything and then a moment later, the voices stopped. I muttered to myself in confusion before I sped up and turned another corner, dying to know what was going on. Then that was when I saw it, Frank Longbottom shoving his tongue down Rose Weasley's throat. I scowled, _well that's disgusting._

I took a few steps forward and for a split second I felt like tearing Longbottom away from Weasley and hitting my fist against his face a few times. However, that feeling was soon squashed by the mechanism I had developed to keep my emotions down. Instead, I stuck my hands into my pockets and smirked, "I guess I underestimated you Weasley." I drawled. As soon as I had spoken the words, Weasley pulled away from Longbottom and deep within the pit of my stomach I felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Longbottom glared at me and moved in front of Weasley, "Malfoy, what are you doing here. Just leave her alone." I heard him sputter. Exasperated and frankly, annoyed that he had even had the audacity to speak to me, I turned my gaze onto him. What did he think he was doing? Did it look like I was about to attack Weasley? I nearly laughed at the thought. I knew better than to start a duel with Rose Weasley. The girls' arsenal of hexes was just as good, if not better than my own. She could take care of herself better than Frank Longbottom ever could. I was honestly annoyed that he even thought he could keep up with her on a personal level, much less protect her.

"Shut up Longbottom, I'm not doing anything. I'm pretty sure Weasley can take care of herself." I spat at him. I wrinkled my nose and gave him the most disgusted look I could muster up. He was lucky I was even tolerating him at this point. It was at that point that I saw Weasley step out from behind Longbottom. She had never been one to be scared of me.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She asked me, taking a defense stance. Rather than immediately answer her question, I waltzed up towards her. "I guess you're more like me than I thought." I replied, my voice had a singsong tone to it considering I was genuinely amused at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Weasley asked, her brows were furrowed and her lips pouted, the expression she always wore when she was confused. Despite myself, I chuckled. She had no idea what I was about to do. She had no idea what kind of trouble I was about to get her in. Honestly, she deserved it after her little commentary in class today. I didn't care that this was going to cost me the bet, it was so worth it.

"I'm talking about what you were just doing with Longbottom over here. Very me, the whole making out in the hallway." I nodded and shot her an exaggerated wink. "Of course, I would never make out with a Longbottom, but I'll allow you that small lapse in judgment considering you're a Gryffindor and can't do any better. Though, I never thought you'd lead someone on like that just to win a bet. That's what I'm most surprised about Weasley. I didn't think you had it in you." I widened my eyes at her and smirked, my gaze shifting between her and Longbottom. Of course I knew very well that she had, had no idea that I had been there. However, Frank Longbottom was gullible enough, and stupid enough to believe it. Plus, he was also insecure enough that I could easily convince him that Weasley didn't like him enough to genuinely kiss him.

"Is that why you let me kiss you Rose?" Longbottom sputtered, turning to face Weasley, a wounded look on his face. A feeling of accomplishment washed over me and I grinned – far too easy. "I can't believe you let me make a fool out of myself just to win a bet." He soon added. How pathetic. With that, Longbottom turned around and rushed away. Weasley turned to watch him, calling after him. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene. What was she calling after him for anyway? The boy was soft and pathetic.

Apparently, Weasley had heard me laughing for the next moment she turned around, a furious expression on her face.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, anger evident in her tone. I didn't answer her and the next thing I knew she was walking towards me. I arched a brow and looked down at her curiously. Weasley was a mere few inches away from me and I could feel her breath on my skin. "I didn't even know you were there!" She snapped, reaching her hand out and pushing my shoulder. She hadn't pushed me very hard and I kept my balance with ease.

Arching a brow, I looked down at my shoulder and wrinkled my nose as if I were disgusted by the fact that she had touched me. Honestly, I liked my space, and I didn't appreciate people touching me if they not invited to do so. However, I wasn't actually disgusted by the fact that Weasley had touched me. Unlike my father during his school days, I did not think that half bloods were beneath me, or that they could spread their impure blood to those of us who were purebloods. Even though I didn't have a real answer for her, I sighed and looked up, keeping my expression as neutral as possible. Shrugging my shoulders I replied, "I decided that messing up your little moment over there was worth more than winning our bet." The truth was, my actions had been purely impulsive.

The look on Weasley's face was priceless. She was shocked, stunned, all the synonyms in the book would have applied at the moment. For a split second I was confused. What was she so surprised about? Had she actually thought that I was above doing this? That I was above doing _anything_? "You really are something else." She muttered before turning around, presumably to find Longbottom. Apparently she _had_ thought that I was above this. But why? I was curious to find out why she had thought such a thing and so my next words were said in a desperate attempt to get her to stop walking away, "The bet was for the whole day Weasley!" I yelled after her, "I may have lost but if you go after him it's a draw!" Despite my attempt, Weasley continued to walk off, flicking me off as she rounded the corner.

I stood there for a few minutes even though she was long gone. I was intrigued by the fact that Weasley had actually had some sort of expectation for me. It was intriguing because I wasn't used to people having _good _expectations of me. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned around and walked back the way I came. I would merely question her about it later. Sure, she was furious with me now but she would eventually cool enough to resume bickering with me. She always did. It was one of the few constants in my life.

**There you have it! **

**P.S- I'm trying to come up with the next interhouse competition challenge and I have a few ideas, but if anyone has any, feel free to let me know! Who knows, they might be more interesting than mine.**


	11. give in to me

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the somewhat long wait but college keeps me busy! Anyway, this chapter is a bit shorter than the ones directly preceding it and I apologize for that but I thought that it was best to end this chapter were I did. I hope that you guys enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you to all of you who have subscribed to this story and to those of you who favorited. Like usual, a huge thank you to those of you who reviewed BUT an ever larger thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and gave me ideas! I liked a lot of the ideas and will be using a few of them as the story progresses. Credit will be given to those people whose ideas I used at the end of the chapter in which I use their idea. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: My bank account will clearly speak to the fact that I do not own harry potter/hogwarts/ etc...**

_Scorpius_**  
**

Four days later and Weasley had yet to utter a single word to me. It was strange because for the last six years bickering with Rose Weasley had always been a given. I had always known that I could count on getting into some sort of spat with her no matter what else was happening in my life. Now however, no matter what I said, she refused to speak to me. I had tried to goad her into having an argument with me on several occasions, but each time she had refused to take the bait and had simply walked away from me. At this point I was even willing to let her win an argument so as long as she took me up on the offer. It might seem strange that I was so eager to have Weasley insulting me once again but after six years it was almost a comfort to me to exchange witty banter with Weasley, especially considering the fact that she was the only person I knew who could keep up with me. I groaned and rolled my eyes, annoyed that thinking about this whole ordeal was taking up so much of my time. Running a hand through my hair, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up, stretching my arms out. With a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall I noticed that I was already late in meeting my friends for the Hogsmeade outing. No matter, I knew that no matter how late I was, they would wait for me. Leaving Scorpius Malfoy behind would be absolute blasphemy.

As I was getting dressed, the door to the dormitory opened up and Emmanuel walked in, a distressed look on his face. I slipped my black sweater on before turning to face my friend, "Mate, you look like you're going to be sick. What's wrong?" I asked, arching a brow at him. It was a very rare occurrence for Emmanuel to look the least bit frazzled, and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen him look this distressed over something.

Emmanuel's head turned in my direction and he gave me a small, apprehensive grin as if he wasn't sure whether or not to tell me what he was so worked up over. Clearing his throat, Emmanuel rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing man, nothing's wrong. I'm just a bit nervous that's all." He cleared his throat once more before he began searching through his trunk.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as I walked over to the mirror to check my appearance. "Who do you think you're talking to Emmanuel?" I questioned, looking at him through the mirror. "I'm not dense."

Emmanuel stopped digging through his trunk and stood up, "I'm taking Molly Weasley out today." He mumbled, glancing at my back apprehensively. My hands, which had previously been occupied with smoothing out my sweater, froze in their spot. Slowly, I turned around, away from the mirror, so I could look at Emmanuel. Arching a brow, I lowered my chin and looked at him with an incredulous expression on my face. "Are you kidding me?" I questioned, my brows furrowing in confusion. I couldn't come to grips with the fact that not only was Emmanuel loosing his cool over a girl, but he was loosing his cool over a _Weasley_.

Emmanuel groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "Come on, don't do this to me right now Scorpius. I get that you don't like her but I'm already late to meet her and for the life of my I can't find my wallet." Emmanuel threw his hands up in frustration and once more began to dig through his trunk.

Sighing, I shook my head before walking over to Emmanuel's bed. I leaned down and pulled out his wallet from under his bed, handing it him with a smirk on my face. A look of relief washed over Emmanuel's face and for a second I even felt bad for him. "Thanks man, I owe you." He muttered, taking the wallet from me and sticking it in his pocket.

I laughed and shook my head, "You would have found it eventually. I just decided to put you out of your misery. You haven't even gone on one date with this girl and she's already got you loosing your mind." I made my way back over to the mirror and watched as Emmanuel glowered at me.

"What? Did I say something that wasn't true?" I asked, raising both brows. Emmanuel opened his mouth to reply, but realizing that I was right, he shut his mouth. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders.

Emmanuel sighed and made his way over to the door, "Whatever mate. You just wait until you find a girl that you like as much as I like Molly. Then I'll pay you back." At this, I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, okay, don't hold your breath waiting for that day." I called after Emmanuel as he left the room. The idea that I would ever get that worked up over a girl was positively preposterous. That would require me, at the very least, to find someone that was worth putting in the effort for a real relationship. It hadn't happened yet and I doubted it ever would. While there were plenty of good-looking girls around, none of them could ever really hold my interest for very long. I had been hooking up with Claudia for almost a year now, but I could only have her around for two or three hours at a time. After that, she began to bore me.

After one last look in the mirror, I grabbed my wallet and shoved it into my pocket. I swept the area around my bed with my eyes just to make sure I had everything I needed. After having made sure I had everything, I nodded my head and left the room, sauntering down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room. Sitting in the common room were the people I had decided to go to Hogsmeade with today. I nodded my greeting and slowly, one by one, Claudia, Charles Flint and Adeline Crowley stood up and made their way over to where I was standing by the exit. As the four of us walked out of the common room and made our way through the dungeons, I heard Claudia and Adeline begin to speculate as to what the next house challenge would be. As I eavesdropped on their conversation, I couldn't help but wonder what Emmanuel and Molly would throw our way next. As I tried to come up with my own list of speculations I realized that once the next challenge was announced, Weasley would _have_ to speak to me. A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips as that realization swept over me, I would give her hell for ignoring me for so many days.

"So, where do you all want to go first?" Charles asked, turning around to face the girls as we entered the village of Hogsmeade. I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and glanced over my shoulder to see what the response would be.

"Oh, can we please go to Madam Puddifoots?" Claudia asked, widening her eyes at me. "Adeline and I haven't eaten anything all day."

I couldn't help but scowl at the suggestion. I found Madam Puddifoots teashop to be a disgusting place and I tried to steer clear of it as much as I could.

Seeing the apprehension on my face, Adeline piped up, "Come on Scorpius, please. Last time we all went to Hogsmeade together you and Charles spent an hour in the Quidditch store." Both girls nodded and gave me a pointed look. From beside me, Charles laughed and clapped a hand on my shoulder, "I think we've lost this one." The scowl remained on my face for a few moments. I was in no mood to admit that I had lost but I also did not have the energy to argue with two girls at the same time. "Fine." I mumbled, before turning around and walking towards the teashop.

As soon as we entered the store, the girls spotted an empty table and dragged us over. Luckily, the table was next to a window and so I had something to look at other than the pink frills that adorned every square inch of the shop. As I was looking out the window however, something in the corner of my eyes caught my attention. Frowning, I turned my head only to spot Weasley sitting with Frank Longbottom at a table on the other side of the shop. My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly looked away, not wanting anyone at my table to see what I had been looking at. However, it was too late for that.

"Is that Weasley with Longbottom?" Claudia asked incredulously, her eyes widening as she stared at the couple across the table. I glanced over, and tuned out the girls as they began whispering about the development. Frankly, I couldn't believe my eyes. What was Weasley doing with Longbottom? Though I wouldn't admit it even if I were being tortured, Weasley was smart and witty, while Frank Longbottom was neither of those two things. As I was about to turn my attention back onto my own table, I saw Weasley stand up and head over to the bathroom. For a few seconds I sat still and then I bolted up out of my seat, "I'll be right back." I mumbled before weaving my way through the shop over to the restrooms. Once I found myself standing in between the doors of the men's and women's restrooms I glanced around, confused as to what had gotten into me. When I had watched Weasley leave her table, I had been overwhelmed with the urge to confront her.

Shaking my head, I realized how stupid a move that had been. However, before I had the chance to turn around and head back over to my table, the door to the women's restroom opened and Weasley walked out. When her eyes landed on me, a look of surprise washed over her face. The look of surprise was soon replaced by a frown and she walked forward, intending to push past me. However, before she could pass by me, I took a step to my right and blocked her pathway. This caused her to sigh and try to sidestep me once more by moving to the left. However, I blocked her pathway again.

"Malfoy, stop it!" She hissed, pushing my shoulder back. Ah, so this is what it took to get her talk to me again. As she tried to move to the right, I sidestepped to the right as well, once more blocking her pathway. "Stop what?" I questioned, smirking down at her.

"That!" She snapped, looking up and glowering at me. "Your moves are deliberate." Her lips were pressed thinly together in annoyance but I wasn't fazed in the least.

"Yeah, I'm deliberately trying to get to the bathroom." I lied, pointing to the men's bathroom behind her. Weasley rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Yeah right." She muttered.

"I see you and Longbottom are here together." I stated, arching a brow. Weasley frowned and took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. Her nose was wrinkled in annoyance I couldn't help but notice that she had let her hair down, out of its usual ponytail. "Yeah, and?" She questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders and sidestepped so that her pathway was clear. "I just can't understand why. I doubt he can hold your attention for very long." I whispered, leaning down so my mouth was only a few inches from her ear. Weasley's eyes opened wide and she stared at me in surprise. However, before she could respond, I chuckled and waltzed into the men's bathroom. The look on her face had been absolutely priceless. The moment I walked into the restroom however, my smirk fell off of my face and was replaced by a look of utter confusion. I wasn't sure what had possessed me when I had decided to get up and confront Weasley. Shaking my head, I wrote it off to my deep-seeded desire to antagonize the girl. I waited a few seconds to make sure that Weasley had made her way back to her table before leaving the restroom. On my way back, I noticed that she and Longbottom were on their way out. As I reached my own table, I followed the couple with my eyes. As the duo was about to exit the teashop, I spotted Weasley loop her arm around Longbottoms' and shoot me a nasty look as she did so. My eyes opened wide as they slipped out the door, surprised at Weasley's audacity.

_Rose  
_

"How'd it go?" Lily squealed, practically jumping on top of me as I entered the seventh year girls' dorm. My eyes widened in surprise and I took a cautious step back, attempting to get out of her grasp.

"Uh, fine." I replied cautiously, sidestepping Lily so that she couldn't pounce on me again.

"Fine? Really? That's all you're going to give me?" Lily asked, arching a brow as she crossed her arms over her chest. I nodded and watched her warily out of the corner of my eye as I walked around her. As I passed Lily, she spun around so she could keep her gaze on my face.

I was in no mood to divulge to Lily the details of my date. If I were to write out the details of my date out on paper, Frank and I would appear to be a perfect couple. There hadn't been a single moment of silence between the two of us, something that was a consequence of the two of us having been friends for so many years. Even Albus and Hugo had approved of my going out with Frank. Of course, they had hurled a few threats his way for good measure but all in all they were taking it rather well. It seemed like we were some sort of golden couple. However, over the course of the afternoon it had become obvious to me that relationships could not be assessed on paper. I had, had a good time with Frank, but there was none of that _spark _that I longed for. I still viewed him as a friend. Albeit an attractive friend, but he didn't make my stomach churn in anticipation nor did he give me sweaty palms.

What I most wanted to avoid telling Lily about was my little encounter with Scorpius Malfoy. I knew that Malfoy liked to antagonize me but I was a bit surprised at the lengths he was going to achieve his goal. When I had made my decision to ignore him I had thought that he would welcome the chance to never speak to me again, but apparently I was wrong. Inwardly, I cursed Malfoy and his sadistic personality. At the very beginning of my date with Frank I had made up my mind to act purely as just a friend so that I wouldn't feel too guilty in telling him that I didn't want to take our relationship in the same direction in which he wanted to take it. However, after my little encounter with Malfoy, something had snapped in me and just to spite the little ferret, I had thrown myself at Frank while leaving the teashop. Now it would be more than valid to say that I was giving Frank mixed signals.

"Yeah, basically." I muttered as I sat on my bed, kicking off my shoes. I was still preoccupied with replaying today's events in my mind and was thus not giving Lily my attention. Something that, I had learned over the years, she did not enjoy. A few moments later Lily sat down next to me and casually bumped her side into mine. Shifting my gaze, I noticed that she was giving me an expectant look. "What?" I asked defensively. "There's nothing else to say."

Lily arched a brow and remained silent for a few minutes before she shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "Fine. Whatever. I don't believe you but I'll figure it out eventually." The look on her face told me that she fully intended to snoop around until she was satisfied. All I could do was sigh in response; Lily had inherited her fathers stubborn and determined personality and once she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her. Obviously, I could always hex her as a preventative measure but I was fairly certain that, that would not go over too well at the next family dinner.

"Anyway, let's head to dinner!" Lily exclaimed, her tone of voice changing almost immediately. Rather than question her motivations for changing the subject, I accepted the development gratefully and nodded my head, shoving my feet back into my boots. With that, I followed Lily down towards the Great Hall, exchanging inconsequential conversation about how, excluding my date with Frank, the two of us had spent our day.

Once in the Great Hall, we found it abuzz with lively chatter. The occupants of the hall were even more animated than they usually were and Lily and I exchanged confused glances before heading for the head of the Gryffindor table, taking our seats beside Albus, Hugo, Frank and a few of the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Frank and I exchanged small smiles before I quickly turned my attention onto Albus.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

Before Albus could say a word, Frank leaned in, his shoulder touching mine, "Emmanuel and Molly are going to announce the next challenge." Both of my brows rose in surprise and I turned my head towards the faculty table to see Molly and Emmanuel exchanging words with McGonagall. I had thought that Emmanuel and Molly would wait a little longer before announcing the next challenge. My gaze did not leave Molly and Emmanuel for a few minutes, but when it became apparent that they were going to make the announcement on their own time, I looked away and listened to the conversations going on around me as I ate my dinner.

It wasn't until the dessert appeared that McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat, causing the whole Great Hall to go silent within a matter of seconds. Without another word, McGonagall sat down and Emmanuel and Molly stepped forward. The two heads exchanged glances and Molly grinned sheepishly.

"So, I hope everyone is enjoying their dinner and we don't mean to interrupt," Molly began, clasping her hands together. The grin on her face was ridiculously wide and I couldn't recall ever seeing her smile this broadly. Well perhaps when we were toddlers on Christmas morning, but most certainly not since then. I highly doubted announcing the next challenge was the cause of all of Molly's joy and I made a mental note to go see her and ask how she was doing.

"But we're here to announce the next inter-house competition challenge that will take place in a month from today!" Emmanuel proclaimed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he rocked back and forth on his heels. There was a relatively broad grin gracing his handsome face as well. A resounding cheer went through the Great Hall and Molly and Emmanuel looked at each other and laughed.

"Our next challenge is going to be a tournament! A dueling tournament!" As soon as the words were out of Molly's mouth chaos erupted in the Great Hall. The volume rose ten fold and people began to run up and down their respective house tables to go talk to all of their friends. The small grin that had previously been gracing my features fell and I groaned, placing my forehead into my hand. Giving a bunch of Slytherins and Gryffindors a reason to use hexes around each other was just asking for trouble.

I felt someone rubbing my arm and I looked up to see that it was Frank. "Cheer up, it can't turn out any worse than the Quidditch challenge." He reasoned before he leaned in and kissed my cheek. I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out and I sat there gaping like a fish. I wasn't sure what to address first – the imminent disaster that was this dueling tournament or the fact that I had failed to deliver the 'just friends' memo to Frank.

**Credit to **xoxosmileyfacexoxo **for giving me the idea of a dueling challenge! Thanks a ton!**


	12. one small step for mankind

**A/N: The response to the last chapter was awesome, so thanks you guys! To everyone who is reading, I hope you're enjoying it. And to all of you who are writing reviews, adding this to your favorites list and/or to your alerts list - y'all keep me motivated! This chapter is a bit longer than the last one but it doesn't have the length of say, chapters 8 or 9. However, I've found that it's easier for me to write chapters of this length considering all the other stuff going on here at college. I hope you like it despite the fact that it's not at the 5,000 word mark. Suggestions are always more than welcome. Enjoy!**

Of course Malfoy was late for our meeting. Why wouldn't he be? After all, he knew that tardiness annoyed me and with each passing day I was becoming more and more convinced that his main motivation for getting out of bed in the morning was to find new ways in which to make my blood boil. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, letting the ends slowly fall through my fingers. Ever since my bet with Malfoy I had taken to leaving my hair down; I actually preferred it to my old ponytail. My gaze wandered over to the large grandfather clock that stood opposite to the table at which I had situated myself. Malfoy was officially twenty minutes late and I officially wanted to strangle him.

A frustrated groan passed my lips and I was silently grateful for the fact that very few people were in the library at three in the afternoon. Deciding that I needed to take my mind off of exactly how late Malfoy was, I dropped my gaze down to the open books sitting in front of me. A scowl soon formed on my face when I realized that I had already finished my work. Seeing as how it was Monday, I really hadn't had much to do. My independent research presentation for History of Magic was in two days, but I couldn't think of anything else to add to it. I had already gone through every book the library had on the subject. As I looked up, I saw Malfoy slowly sauntering over towards me and a sigh of relief escaped me. While I wasn't thrilled to have to spend the next half hour with Malfoy, I was glad that he had finally arrived and that we would have some time to speak before we met with the entirety of our two houses. A few hours after Molly and Emmanuel had announced the next challenge Malfoy had sent me an owl suggesting the two of us meet up and discuss the challenge before we met with both of the houses. While I had been surprised, I had agreed, for it made a lot of sense to me – the two of us had experience in commanding a team made up of both Slytherins and Gryffindors and could therefore come up with an informed game plan on how to handle such a large meeting. We could then give our suggestions to the other prefects at the start of the meeting as opposed to having them figure something out for themselves.

"Did you injure yourself on the way here?" I calmly asked Malfoy as I watched him take the seat across from me. I folded my hands on top of my books as I kept my gaze on his face.

"Nope." He replied, settling into his seat. He leaned back into the chair and casually rested one arm on the table as the other fell into his lap. A few strands of hair fell into his face, making him look as if he were casually posing for a magazine. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but think how unfair it was that he made looking so good look so effortless.

"Had a meeting with a Professor?" I tilted my head to the side as if my line of questioning was out of genuine concern.

"Uh, no…" Malfoy replied, his voice slowly trailing off. Though he did not move from the position he had settled into, his brows pinched together and he seemed confused as to why I was asking him all of this.

Suddenly and with dexterity I rarely displayed, I pressed my palms against the table and leaned forward so my face was only a few inches away from Malfoy's. "Then why are you twenty minutes late?" I demanded, arching a brow. I kept my position despite the fact that if Malfoy decided to lean forward, our lips would have no choice but to touch. Had this been anyone else, I wouldn't have been this peeved over the fact that they had shown up late, but this was Scorpius Malfoy, and I knew he had done it to make me angry.

As if he were trying to confirm my suspicions, Malfoy shrugged his shoulders and glanced off to the side as if I wasn't worth looking at. "I was preoccupied." He replied, raising his brows and smirking suggestively.

See – no important reason for making me wait.

I wrinkled my nose and gave him the most disgusted look I could muster up before rolling my eyes. Leaning back into my seat, I pushed my books off to the side, "Your _extracurricular _activities are of no importance to me Malfoy, but please, take care of that stuff on your own time and not when you have a prearranged meeting with me." I didn't even want to think of what Malfoy had been doing with Claudia for the mere thought made me want to gag.

"What, doesn't Longbottom ever make you loose track of time?" Malfoy mused, his voice barely a whisper as he leaned forward in his seat.

My eyes widened and I looked at him half in shock and half in horror. Honestly, I just couldn't believe he had asked me that question, with _those _connotations. I felt blood rushing up to my cheeks and I mentally cursed myself for allowing Malfoy's words to make me blush. "And I would tell you the intimate details of my private life why exactly?" I mumbled, the words coming off in a far more defensive manner than I had intended. For his part, Malfoy merely chuckled and leaned back into his seat.

Pursing my lips, I slowly exhaled and glanced off to the side. The truth of the matter was that I had been actively avoiding Frank ever since dinner on Saturday night. At some point yesterday afternoon he had joined me in the library for two hours, but that had been the extent of our recent interaction. I had actively avoided being alone with him in a private setting for fear that he would, as Malfoy had so eloquently put it, _try to make me loose track of time_. Though I still considered Frank a friend, I was fairly certain that he thought we were together. Of course, it was all my fault that he thought so for I was far too much of a chicken to tell him that I did not want a relationship with him. I was too much of a chicken to do it because I knew perfectly well that I had led him on. The worst part of it all was that part of the reason I had led him on was to spite Malfoy. I wasn't sure why I had thought throwing myself at Frank would affect Malfoy in any way but at the moment it had seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Clearly it had been a poor value judgment on my part.

"So, are we going to talk about this new challenge?" Malfoy asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned my head to face him and caught him giving me a curious look. I frowned and nodded my head, "Yeah of course." Clearing my throat, I pulled out the piece of parchment on which the challenge rules were written. Molly and Emmanuel had made this more than just a simple dueling challenge; they had turned the thing into a serious dueling tournament. Students would be paired off into teams of two, and it was a requirement that each student was paired off with a student from a different house. So, in the case of the Slythindors, no two Gryffindors were allowed to make up a dueling team. Brackets would be created for the tournament and teams would eliminate each other until there were only two teams left. For each team that advanced, the houses would get a set number of points, depending on the round. The whole thing was very intense and so we had been given a month to prepare.

"I was thinking we should probably let them pick their own partners, at least for the most part." I proposed, smoothing out the piece of parchment in order to avoid having to look up at Malfoy. "They're all going to be resistant to the idea of having to work with each other in the first place and I think imposing partnerships will only make it worse." I glanced up to see what Malfoy's reaction was and to my surprise he was nodding.

"Yeah, that's probably the best route to go." Malfoy agreed. There was no hint of resistance in his voice and I was surprised that he had given in so easily to something that I had proposed. "What about the prefects?" He asked a few seconds later.

I arched a brow, a bit confused by his words. After all, hadn't we just come to the conclusion that we would let everyone pick his or her own partners? Why should the prefects be any different? If anything, they should have more leeway in picking their partners than the other house members. Malfoy must have noticed my confusion for he spoke up to clarify, "What I mean is should the prefects be allowed to partner with other prefects or should they have to partner with the other house members? Prefects will probably be the most knowledgeable so do we want to concentrate our best assets or spread them around?"

I nodded my head slowly to indicate to Malfoy that I understood what he was talking about. Biting down onto my lower lip, I glanced off to the side as I considered his words. My mind jumped to considering whom I would want to partner with and much to my own surprise the only option my brain could come up with was Malfoy. After all, he was the only Slytherin I knew I could work with. Of course, the two of us were constantly at each other's throats but when it came down to the wire, I knew that I could count on him to work in the best interest of the victory. Plus, out of all the Slytherins he was definitely the most knowledgably and honestly, I wanted to win the tournament.

"I think we should let the prefects work with whichever member of the other house they want to. Other prefects included." I replied, taking my own preferences into consideration. Malfoy nodded in agreement, "Good, I was thinking the same thing." I nodded in return and the two of us sat in silence for a few moments.

"Have you considered who you would want to work with?" I asked after a few seconds, absent-mindedly tracing the edge of the table with my right index finger. I dropped my gaze as I waited for his reply.

"Have you?" Malfoy asked, tilting his head to the right and arching a brow. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips and I rolled my eyes in frustration. Why on earth had I been expecting a straight answer?

I pursed my lips and raised both eyebrows, blinking at him a few times. I wasn't about to out right tell him that I thought we should partner up for the challenge, but I was hoping he was thinking the same thing and would realize what I was getting at.

Malfoy chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Why don't we work together Weasley?" He questioned, as if the idea had just come to him. As if it was something novel. Despite myself, I smiled, finding the way in which he had said it amusing. "Sounds good to me." I replied as casually as possible, glancing down at my books as I tried to seem disinterested in this latest development.

Malfoy chuckled, "After all, your magical incompetence would completely ruin anyone else's chances at doing well in this tournament. I at least have the skills necessary to counterbalance your lack thereof."

I looked up at Malfoy and widened my eyes at him, giving him a shocked look. "Excuse me?" I questioned. I grabbed the piece of parchment on which the tournament rules were written, crumpled them up and threw it at his head.

Malfoy ducked to the right and the balled up piece of parchment narrowly missed hitting his head. "I'm pretty sure attacking your partner is against the rules Weasley." Malfoy retorted, feigning a stern look.

Shaking my head, I couldn't help but smirk. "I think Molly and Emmanuel would be willing to make an exception in our case." I replied as I began to put my books back into my bag. We had ten minutes until our prearranged house meeting and I wanted to get there a bit early so there was time to fill in the other prefects on what Malfoy and I had discussed. Malfoy tilted his head from side to side a few times, seemingly agreeing with my statement. He grabbed his bag up off the floor and stood up, waiting for me finish getting my things together. I was a bit surprised that he was willing to be seen walking through the halls of Hogwarts with me, but I didn't mind. I hated walking around alone and so I preferred Malfoy's albeit annoying presence to a lack thereof.

Having gathered my things, I threw my bag over my shoulder and followed Malfoy out of the library. The two of us walked in silence, and in a way, it was strange that Malfoy and I weren't busy trying to tear each other down. So in that sense, it was a little bit awkward. However, in another sense, it felt natural. Much to my surprise I was finding that I didn't really mind my current predicament. To put it simply, I did not want to strangle Malfoy nor did I want to hex him into oblivion. Apparently the two of us were making some progress.

When the two of us finally entered the Great Hall, we found that the other prefects were already there. Upon seeing that Malfoy and I were walking in together, the other ten prefects all glanced at each other, confused expressions evident on their faces. Frank in particular seemed baffled and he searched the room for Lily. I saw him mouth something to her but from where I was standing I couldn't make out exactly what it was.

Malfoy and I walked forward, coming up to the table at which all of the prefects had gathered around. "Hello everyone." I greeted, giving the group a half-hearted wave. The prefects grunted their reply. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Malfoy to see what his move would be. This was a vastly different situation than when Malfoy and I had led the Slythindor Quidditch team. With the Quidditch team, the two of us had been co-captains and had therefore been able to exercise a kind of dictatorial power. Now that we were dealing with the rest of the prefects it was more of a democratic relationship and we had to find a way to make these other ten people voluntarily work together, as opposed to forcing them to work together. At least that's what my perception of the situation was.

"So, have any of you discussed how we're going to approach this challenge?" Malfoy asked, dumping his bag onto the table and sitting at the head of it, a few feet away from the rest of the prefects. Silence was the only response Malfoy received. The Slytherin prefects merely looked at each other in a sheepish manner while the Gryffindor prefects looked off to the side.

"Well, in that case, Weasley and I have a plan to share with the lot of you." Malfoy stated, his tone of voice very nonchalant. He looked around at the other prefects, as if daring them to challenge him. I held my breath and glanced around, waiting for some sort of the reaction. The Gryffindor prefects looked at each other as if they wanted to speak up but thankfully, they didn't. Malfoy had commanded the room in the exact manner in which I wished I could command a room. While it was true that I had no trouble voicing my opinion in class, or telling someone off when they deserved it, I had a tendency to try and work things out in a more diplomatic manner when it came to people I was on friendly terms with. I was afraid of offending the people I cared about and so I didn't have the nerve to command a room as smoothly as Malfoy did.

"Weasley?" Malfoy muttered, elbowing my side. I blinked and looked down at him, taking in the fact that he had propped his feet up on the table. He nodded over to where the other prefects were sitting and I nodded, understanding what he meant.

"So, Malfoy and I talked it over and we decided that it would probably be best that when everyone arrives we just let them pick their own partners. Chances are no one is going to be excited to have to work with a member of the opposite house so forcing them into partnerships isn't going to work. As for us prefects, I don't see why it should be any different, so we should just pick our own partners as well." A few exchanged glances, a couple of mutters and a nod here and there served as confirmation that the prefects seemed to be okay with the idea being proposed.

"Good, well –" I started but was soon cut off.

"My only question is how come you decided all of this without consulting the rest of us?" Adam, Lily's fifth year Gryffindor prefect counterpart, asked. I frowned, searching for an appropriate answer. I knew that someone was going to ask something along those lines but I didn't have a diplomatic answer prepared.

"Well, Malfoy and I thought it would be a good idea for us to talk a bit before hand since we have experience with an inter-house team because of the Quidditch challenge." I nodded, keeping my tone of voice as soft and diplomatic as possible.

"Right but you could have at least included the rest of us in this discussion." I frowned, upset that one of my own house members was trying to cause trouble. A bit of a murmur of agreement went through the prefects. Fantastic, the prefects were bonding over their mutual dislike of the actions Malfoy and I had taken. "You two can't just act like you're in charge of this whole group. At least include the other seventh year prefects." Adam continued.

My jaw dropped open and I narrowed my eyes at Adam. As a general rule, I didn't argue with other Gryffindors because I was a big proponent of intra - house unity. On some level, Adam was right. However, Malfoy and I were in fact the only ones with any experience in commanding a group of Slythindors and we didn't have the time to sit around and argue with the other prefects.

"And what exactly would you have contributed Adam? Please, inform me." The words spilled out of my mouth before my mind even registered what I was saying. From beside me, I heard Malfoy chuckle and though I was tempted to turn my head and glare at him, I resisted that urge.

"That's not the point Rose." Adam retorted.

"Actually, it is." I replied, slowly becoming comfortable with the idea of telling off one of my own house members. "From the look of things you and the other prefects were in here for some time before Malfoy and I walked in and you all had absolutely nothing to contribute so pardon us if we want to make sure that things actually get done. Now if you have any _constructive _ideas you would like to add, they are more than welcome. If not, keep your remarks to yourself. They're not as intelligent as you may think they are." On the inside, I was reeling, uncomfortable with the fact that I had just told off another Gryffindor, in front of a bunch of Gryffindors. However, I retained a neutral expression on my face and waited for Adam to say something.

"Never mind." Adam muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing off to the side.

"Good, well, in that case, just start thinking about who you would like to work with because everyone else will be coming down shortly." My voice had regained its soft, diplomatic tone. I turned my head away from the other prefects and glanced down at Malfoy who was currently smirking and giving me a very bemused expression.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "What?" I snapped, grabbing my bag off of the bench I had placed it on. Malfoy chuckled and shook his head, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "Nothing Weasley, nothing at all. Just surprised that you finally grew a real backbone."

I opened my mouth to respond but soon decided that it wasn't worth it. So, instead, I simply shook my head and ran a hand through my hair in a frustrated manner. Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I wandered over to where Frank was standing with Lily. I couldn't avoid Frank forever, especially now that we were going to be in the same room for a few hours. "Hey guys." I huffed.

The two of them smiled at me before Lily wandered off to speak to one of the sixth year prefects.

"Rosie, is everything okay?" Frank asked, his brows furrowed. He placed a hand gently on my shoulder.

Now it was my turn to frown. "Yeah, everything is fine. Why?"

"Well, I was just surprised that you snapped at Adam like that. It's not like you." Frank seemed genuinely concerned, but I wasn't sure what exactly was causing his concern.

"I know, but if I just let him go on he was going to cause a problem and this whole Gryffindor- Slytherin alliance is shaky enough as it is. We need things to be laid out and to be stable." My explanation made perfect sense to me and I hoped that Frank would see it that way too because I was not in the mood to argue with him. Frankly, we didn't even have enough physical time for that.

"Yeah, I know, but it doesn't look good for you to discipline other Gryffindors. Especially not in front of the Slytherins. I think Adam thinks you're picking Malfoy over your own house." From the sound of Frank's voice it sounded as if Adam wasn't the only one who thought I was picking Malfoy over the other Gryffindors.

I tilted my head to the side and let out a sigh. "That's absurd Frank. You know that the people in my house mean the world to me. I just want to win this competition and if that means working with Malfoy, I'm willing to do that. You see that, don't you?" I asked, frowning and leaning forward a little, placing a hand on Frank's forearm.

Frank sighed and nodded his head, raising his arm and wrapping it around my shoulders. I swallowed, hard. Frank had held me like this long before the two of us had gone out on our date, but I knew that this time around it had far vaster connotations than just friendship. "So, have you thought about who you're going to be partners with? I can't seem to think of a single Slytherin I want to work with." Frank laughed and grinned as he looked down at me.

Without even thinking about it, I nodded my head. "Yeah, Malfoy and I decided to work together." I said very nonchalantly.

Frank's smiled fell away and he sighed. "Seriously, Rosie?" He questioned.

"Uh, yeah, seriously." I responded, slowly, still unsure of what the big deal was. Frank sighed and shook his head, dropping his arm from my shoulders. He gave me one last stern look before he wandered off to join some of the other Gryffindor prefects. Frowning, I stared at his retreating form. I was extremely frustrated and confused. Why was it such a big deal that Malfoy and I were working together? I wanted to secure a victory for Gryffindor and if creating an alliance with Malfoy was what it took, I would do it.

"Trouble for the golden couple?" Malfoy's voice piped up from behind me. Surprised, I jumped before turning around to face him.

"No." I responded defensively. "Not that it's really any of your business."

Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes, "It's my business when you're personal life interferes with the competition. Remember what you said to me earlier?" He questioned, arching a brow, "Take care of your private matters on your own time."

I scowled, angry that Malfoy was using my own words against me. "I _will_ take care of my private matters on my own time. We were just having a little chat."

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever Weasley. I think you were right to tell that kid off. Longbottom is just being too sensitive about the whole thing. I would have done the same thing if that had been a Slytherin."

Frowning, I nodded, agreeing with Malfoy. "Yeah, I think so." The defensive tone in my voice was gone. Malfoy nodded and turned his body so that he was facing the entrance to the Great Hall. I nodded in return and placed my bag on the floor. Turning my body, I too faced the entrance to the Great Hall. Soon enough, people began filing into the Great Hall and Malfoy and I stood next to each other, waiting for the room to fill.


	13. dazed and confused

**A/N: Hey guys! So, I know that it's been a really long time since I've updated but my workload at college just got the best of me and I had to put this on hold. Well, here is the next chapter and I'm sorry if it's not up to par or quite in line with the previous chapters but it took me a little while to get back into the mindset. Feedback is always much appreciated. I really enjoyed coming back and reading all the reviews you guys had left in the meantime and I know I haven't gotten back to you guys yet, but I will, I promise. Now that I'm off for the summer I have a lot more time to write. I promise! I hope you all like this chapter and as always, let me know how I can improve.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, merely the basic plot.**

"Very good Miss Weasley!" The usually monotone voice of the ghostly Professor Binns actually seemed to contain some pep as he congratulated me on the presentation of my independent research project. A grin spread out over my face and I nodded my thanks as I proceeded to gather up my note cards. There was a small voice in the back of my head telling me to tone down the joyous expression on my face so it didn't appear as if I was gloating. Which I wasn't really, I was just proud of the work I had done.

Having assembled by belongings, I moved to vacate the front of the room and head back to my seat. "One moment Professor, I have a few questions for Miss Weasley if that isn't a problem."

My eyes darted towards the back of the classroom where they landed on the smug smile Malfoy was wearing at the moment. I narrowed my eyes at him and wrinkled my nose in an attempt to inform him that the feigned scholastic interest did not suit him. My expression however only further embedded the smug expression into Malfoy's features. Did he think I was afraid to let him as me a few questions?

"Very good Mr. Malfoy that would be very informative for the class. That is of course if Miss Weasley doesn't mind."

I turned my head to look at Professor Binns and forced a pained smile, "No of course not Professor." I didn't mind at all, but I really had just wanted to yell 'bring it on' to Malfoy. I knew very well what he was doing – he was going to try to embarrass me in front of the entire class. Well, if he thought that he knew more about my topic than I did, he had another thing coming altogether.

"So, what's your first question Mr. Malfoy?" I questioned, placing a hand on my hip as I dumped all of my material back onto the desk in front of the room. There was a twinge of disgust in my voice at having had to address Malfoy in a formal manner. I held his gaze firmly, breaking eye contact only when I desperately needed to blink.

"Right well," Malfoy cleared his throat and smirked as he glanced down at the pieces of paper in front of him, "You gave the names of the members of the Department of International Magical Cooperation who were convicted of trying to overthrow the Minister. Out of those eight however, three of them maintained their innocence until they died while the other five eventually admitted to the crime. You mentioned that, but you failed to mention the alternate explanations they gave. " Malfoy tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brows. Despite the effort he was putting into trying to maintain his scholarly expression I could see the corners of his lips twitching upwards into a smirk. "So you know, maybe they really could have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You've done your homework Mr. Malfoy!" I exclaimed, actually surprised. My surprise was aimed at the fact that he really had, had nothing better to do than read up on my assignment. I took my hand off of my hip and walked around the desk that was placed in front of the classroom, sitting down in the chair behind it. If I knew Malfoy, which I thought I did, this was going to take a while.

"But really, the evidence was overwhelming. I'm sure they had all convinced themselves they had done nothing wrong but I didn't think reporting delusions was very academic." I leaned back in my seat, crossing my right leg over the left. This little incident was just reaffirming my suspicion that Malfoy woke up every morning and thought of new ways to make me want to tear out my hair.

"Reporting delusions might not be academic, but neither is excluding information." Malfoy countered, raising both brows, "The five that eventually admitted their guilt all had really solid, personal reasons for taking part in the coup. The other three did not appear have any motive."

Pursing my lips, I lowered my chin and gave Malfoy a look that said that he should know better. "You don't think the desire for power is motive enough?" Arching my brow, I folded my hands across my chest waiting for whatever gem would come out of Malfoy's mouth next.

Malfoy frowned and shrugged his shoulders, "I think that's an oversimplification."

"Well, I think you're wrong." I stated blankly, blinking at him.

A few snickers were heard throughout the room and I tore my gaze away from Malfoy, glancing around the room. For a moment I had forgotten that there were actually other people listening to this conversation.

"I suppose that issue shall be left up to future research and discussion" Professor Binns cut in, his voice resuming its usual bored, dry tone. "Class dismissed."

Frowning, I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stood up, gathering together all of my belongings. Having stuck a few of my papers and note cards into my bag, I gathered my remaining books into my arms and began to file out of the classroom after a few of the other Gryffindor students.

Upon leaving the classroom, I spotted Malfoy leaning against the wall across the hall. The expression on his face spoke volumes about how smug he was feeling at the moment. There was a huge smirk painted across his lips and his grey eyes twinkled mischievously.

Pointing my index finger at him, I narrowed my eyes as I walked towards him, "You're an ass." I stated, nodding my head.

Malfoy chuckled and took a step away from the wall. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Weasley."

Rolling my eyes, I began to walk down the stairs. "Malfoy, do you expect me to believe that you just happened to have all of that information on hand, lying around in your dormitory?" I questioned, glancing at him out of the corner of my eyes.

"Frankly, yes." He stated, nodding his head as he walked down the stairs beside me. "Though, I would greatly appreciate it if you would go back to referring to me as Mr. Malfoy. You see it demonstrates the appropriate level of respect you should be showing me." As he motioned with his hands I felt the sudden urge to just swat at them. I refrained however, for I feared that touching Malfoy would lead to the transmission of whatever disease it was that made him so insufferable.

I slowly turned my head to the left to look at him. It was apparent that Malfoy thought that he was absolutely hysterical as he was desperately trying to suppress his laughter.

"You're lucky we're surrounded by other people right now." I had dropped my voice down to a whisper as I pointed to towards the people walking ahead of us.

"Oh, really, am I? How so Weasley?" Malfoy questioned, his brows furrowed, feigning confusion as we headed towards the next flight of stairs.

"You most certainly are Malfoy. Would you like a demonstration?" I questioned, pretending to reach for my wand.

Malfoy opened his mouth to respond but a loud giggle echoing throughout the hallway cut him off. Confusion was soon etched onto both of our faces and without skipping a beat, both Malfoy and I turned and headed down the hall in order to investigate the source of the interruption.

Upon rounding the corner, the two of us were met with the sight of Molly giggling hysterically as she and Emmanuel stepped out of the prefects bathroom looking remarkably disheveled. As Molly let out another giggle I cleared my throat in order to make them aware of our presence.

Both Molly and Emmanuel stopped in their tracks and picked their heads up to see who exactly had interrupted their little 'moment'. Upon seeing that Malfoy and I were standing there, Molly's eyes went wide with shock and the bright red shade of the Weasley blush began to creep into her cheeks. Emmanuel on the other hand merely looked amused.

I for one was shocked. While I had, in the past couple of weeks, picked up on a few telling glances between Molly and Emmanuel I had, had no idea that there was _actually _something going on between them. I had just assumed that if anything did materialize, Molly would fill me in on it. After all, being in the same year, we were pretty close. "Hello Molly darling." I greeted, finally finding my voice.

Molly cleared her throat and smiled at me sheepishly, "Hey Rosie." There was a tinge of embarrassment in her voice and she was making an effort to avoid meeting my gaze.

"Why don't you send my an owl later Molls? There's something I kind of want to talk to you about." While I wanted to practically physically assault Molly for information, I knew she would hate it if I grilled her in front of Emmanuel.

Clearing her throat, Molly nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."

"Good." I nodded my head and gave her a strained smile. A silence befell the four of us and I took a moment to look over at Malfoy. His nose was wrinkled as if he was disgusted by the situation, but there wasn't a single hint of surprise in his face.

All of a sudden, Emmanuel cleared his throat, breaking the silence. It was so sudden of a noise that it caused me to jump. "Well, this has been sufficiently awkward!" He exclaimed, grinning wickedly. "We'll see you two later." With that, Emmanuel grabbed Molly's hand and the two of them darted past Malfoy and I, making a beeline towards the stairs. I spun around on my heel and watched the two of them disappear around the corner before I turned my head to look at Malfoy.

"I'm going to kill her." I stated blankly, my voice devoid of any emotion.

Malfoy looked at me and narrowed his eyes, "Now look here Weasley, Emmanuel is a good friend of mine and he's a good guy. I can't, for the life of me understand what he sees in your uptight cousin, but he sees something so don't you go rounding up that gigantic clan of yours to cause trouble for him."

For a few moments, I was speechless. Had Malfoy just defended someone other than himself? Not only that but he had _vehemently_ defended Emmanuel in the most sincere tone of voice I had ever heard him use.

Clearing my throat, I snapped myself out of my thoughts. "Calm down Malfoy, I wasn't insulting Emmanuel. I'm going to kill Molly because she didn't tell me that there was something going on between the two of them, not because there is something going on." A look of realization washed over Malfoy's face and he nodded his head, "Oh." He replied slowly. He pressed his lips together thinly, slightly embarrassed by his small outburst.

"Yeah, oh." I retorted, letting out a small laugh. "Though I do have to say Malfoy, I was rather surprised by the way in which you defended Emmanuel. Just because I am so impressed, I'll disregard the jab you made at Molly." At this point, Malfoy and I were the only two people left in the hall and the silence that surrounded us was making me somewhat uncomfortable so I began to slowly make my way towards the staircase.

"You used two different adjectives there Weasley. Why were you surprised?" Malfoy questioned, curiosity evident in his voice as he followed me down the hall.

As Malfoy caught up to me, I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I've just never heard you stick up for anyone before. Except of course, for yourself."

"Just because you've never heard or seen me do something Weasley does not mean it doesn't happen." Malfoy replied, his tone very matter of fact. Honestly, he had a good point there. Frankly, I wasn't being totally truthful with him.

I sighed as we reached the ground floor. "Honestly Malfoy, you just don't strike me as the type of person who is willing to put in the effort to defend others." Turning my body to face Malfoy, I saw the look of surprise that washed over his face. A moment later however, the expression was gone, having been replaced by a rather stoic look.

"What, were you under the impression that, that trait was reserved solely for self-righteous Gryffindors such as yourself?" Each word had a sharp bite to it and though Malfoy's face was blank, his eyes were glaring daggers at me.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a split second. So much for the progress Malfoy and I had been making. We had managed to go without an argument for a considerable amount of time and now, I let one thing slip and we were on the verge of falling back into the routine of tearing each other's throats out. "Malfoy, that's not what I meant." I replied, exasperated as I opened my eyes. When I opened my eyes, the look on Malfoy's face was vastly different than when I had closed my eyes. He was no longer sporting the stoic expression I detested, but rather he now looked puzzled. While I was itching to ask him why he appeared to be so confused, I refrained. Despite the fact that a few moments ago he had been quite angry with me, he was not yelling or cursing at me and frankly, I wanted to keep it that way. Arguing with Malfoy was always exhausting.

"Well, I guess you learned something new today Weasley." Malfoy stated without any trace of the previous ferocity that had been present in his tone.

Now, it was my turn to look puzzled. It had truly seemed like Malfoy was going to start another classic screaming match with me, but all of a sudden, all of the anger had faded. What on earth had diffused his temper?

Frowning, I nodded my head, "Yeah, I guess so." I didn't dare say anything else.

"I guess I'll see you this evening at practice." Malfoy muttered before looking away and marching into the Great Hall before I had a chance to reply. I glanced around in confusion before entering the Great Hall and making a beeline for the Gryffindor table. The next time any guy tried to argue that women were confusing I was going to relay to them this situation.

_Scorpius_

The moment that dueling practice was over, I slipped out of the Great Hall and began to make my way back down towards the dungeons. Frankly, I did not want to risk exchanging any words with Weasley. Avoiding conversation had been fairly easy during practice seeing as how the two of us had just gone around watching, commenting, and correcting the technique of the other teams. I knew however, that after practice Weasley would want to discuss the state of the team, and I just wasn't up for that. It wasn't that I was still angry with her for her earlier comment I was just very confused. My confusion was due to the fact that Weasley's earlier comment still _bothered _me. It didn't bother me in the sense that I wanted to hex her into oblivion, it bothered me in the sense that I was offended by the fact that she hadn't thought I would stick up for Emmanuel. After all, when I had royally pissed Weasley off unlike most people she had demonstrated that she had, had at least one good expectation of me.

"Damn her." I mumbled as I strode into the Slytherin common room. Why couldn't Weasley just be consistent in her expectations? I wouldn't really have minded if she had never had any positive expectations of me but now I was annoyed and I didn't really understand why.

"Damn who Scorpius?"

The sickly sweet voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see Claudia sitting on the couch with a book in her lap. I raised a brow; surprised that Claudia knew how to read. A second later my surprise passed, she probably just had the book out to make it look like she knew how to read.

"No one. Don't worry about it Claudia." I mumbled, starting to walk up to my dormitory.

"Want me to come with you?" Claudia opened her eyes wide, pursing her lips as she batted her lashes.

"Nope." I replied quickly and simply. At this point, I really just wasn't in the mood.

As I began to walk up the stairs I heard Claudia whimpering and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. This was exactly why I didn't want her coming with me - I was bored with her. She was willing to be at my beck and call and that was far too easy.

"You know Scorp, ever since you've been spending all that time with Rose Weasley you haven't wanted to spend as much time with me. If I didn't know any better I would have to say something was going on between the two of you."

Those words caused me to stop in my tracks and I turned around to see the smirk playing across Claudia's lips. "That's disgusting Claudia, you do you know better." I replied forcefully. The strong urge to slap that smirk right off of her face overcame me, but I merely tightened my grip on the wooden banister. Claudia merely shrugged her shoulders and glanced off to the side.

I rolled my eyes and turned around, continuing my walk up the stairs. The idea that something was going on between Weasley and I was absolutely preposterous. The two of us had to put in a lot of effort into merely tolerating the others presence. Upon reaching the top of the landing I called behind me, "Are you coming or not?"

Not even half a second later I heard Claudia's heels clicking against the floor as she scurried up the stairs.


	14. with a little help from friends

**A/N: I know I said I would have more time now that it is summer but I got a summer internship and it's taking up all my time. Regardless, here is the next chapter! I'm not giving up on this story and so I would like to thank everyone that is still reading. Thank you sooo much to everyone who is reviewing. If I haven't personally messaged you to thank you I'm so sorry and I'll try to get to everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always suggestions and constructive criticism is more than welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own!**

Molly Weasley was extremely lucky that she was still alive. Normally that sort of statement would be an exaggeration made simply to convey the seriousness of a situation but this time around I really meant it. I had anticipated an owl from her all of last night but she hadn't sent me a single note. Now, the following day, I was making a fool of myself by standing in front of the Ravenclaw tower. It had been twenty minutes and not a single person had entered or left the tower leaving me to wait impatiently. Despite the fact that I was extremely exasperated I was more than willing to wait around the tower for the remainder of the day. After all, classes were over and I had very little homework to attend to. In an effort to stave off boredom I took out my wand and began to produce different colored lights, making them dance in the air. Just as a burst of yellow light came out of my wand the door to the Ravenclaw tower swung open. The colors I had produced instantly vanished as I turned towards the door. As a Ravenclaw boy began to exit the tower I rushed in through the door nearly knocking him over.

"What the hell?" The boy called after me.

There was a small part of me that felt bad enough to turn around and apologize but that part of me was squashed by my overwhelming desire to harass one Molly Weasley. My entrance into the Ravenclaw common room caused the studious students to look up from their books and shoot me curious glances. Because of the inter-house competition they were probably suspicious of my presence but my prominently displayed prefect badge prevented anyone from questioning me. After taking a deep breath I headed up the stairs towards the girls dormitories easily finding my way to Molly's dormitory. Opening the door, I stepped inside and quickly spotted Molly's flaming red hair sitting at her desk. Other than Molly there was only one seventh year girl in the dormitory. Molly didn't even look up from her books as the door slammed behind me and I couldn't help but grin and roll my eyes. My cousin was even more engrossed in her studies than I usually was. I made my way over to Molly's desk and stood beside it. Clearing my throat I began to tap my foot in order to get her attention. Molly's eyes darted down towards my shoes and I heard her take in a sharp breath before she picked her head up to look at me.

"Rosie!" She exclaimed, forcing a smile. "Darling, what are you doing here?"

When I had been waiting downstairs I had been absolutely furious with Molly for not sending me an owl and yet now, seeing how nervous she was, I couldn't bring myself to even think about yelling at her.

"Molly, you know exactly what I'm doing here." I replied, giving her a stern look as I folded my arms over my chest. Just because I wasn't going to yell at her did not mean I was going to let her off easy. As those words left my lips, Molly pushed her chair back away from her desk and nodded her head, giving me a sheepish look.

"I guess I do." She replied, glancing off to the side and biting her lower lip.

"Good! Then I can get straight to the point. Why didn't you tell me?" I exclaimed, my voice raising an octave as I hit her arm.

"I was scared of what you would say!" Molly exclaimed defensively. "I was going to tell you eventually, when I worked up the courage to do so. When you saw me with Emmanuel yesterday I was so scared that you were going to get mad at me so I was too nervous to owl you."

The apologetic look on Molly's face instilled a good deal of guilt in me and I relaxed my stance. With a sigh I sat down on her bed and crossed my right ankle over the left.

"What did you imagine me saying? Must have been pretty bad if you were so worked up." A part of me was hurt by the fact that Molly had been afraid to tell me about this major development in her personal life.

Molly shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know…" She trailed off for a moment, glancing around the dormitory. "I just didn't think you would approve and I thought you would be mad at me for going out with him. You can't blame me for thinking like that Rosie! You know just as well as I do the general sentiment towards Slytherins in our family. Especially Uncle Ronald's perception of Slytherins! Plus, he's a Zabini Rosie. Everyone knows that his parents supported Voldemort for quite a long time during the Second War. I didn't want you to be upset with me." Once Molly had finished speaking she looked at me nervously, her blue eyes open wide.

Furrowing my brows I bobbled my head from side to side for a few moments. Molly's fears weren't entirely unfounded. After all, most of the members of the Weasley-Potter clan still held a blanket disdain towards all Slytherins. While I didn't hate all Slytherins I couldn't claim to be a beacon of tolerance. As I tried to come up with the right thing to say, Molly spoke again.

"On top of all that, Emmanuel is best friends with Scorpius Malfoy." Molly's nervous expression had transformed into one of amusement and she looked like she was about to laugh.

A chuckle escaped my lips. "Molls, just because I occasionally have the urge to break Malfoy does not mean I hold the same sentiments towards Emmanuel." I widened my eyes and pursed my lips, giving her a faux pointed look.

As she smiled, a hopeful look crossed Molly's face. "So you're not mad at me?" She asked.

I shook my head, "No, I'm not mad that you and Emmanuel are dating. I'm happy for you love. I was just upset that you didn't tell me."

Without saying another word Molly stood up and walked over to me, giving me a hug. "Thanks Rosie. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. It was silly of me."

"You got that right." I replied as we both pulled out of the hug. The two of us laughed and Molly sat down on her bed next to me. "So when are you planning on telling the rest of the clan?"

At those words, Molly turned her head towards me and gave me a horrified look. "Do I have to?" She questioned. Molly knew very well that she would have to let the others in on her little secret eventually so I didn't even bother to answer her. With a sigh, Molly nodded. "I'm just afraid of how the boys will react. I'm afraid that they'll start harassing him and Emmanuel will just wake up and realize I'm not worth all of that trouble." The look on Molly's face was nervous and quite sad. She avoided my gaze and kept her eyes focused on her folded hands.

"Molly!" I exclaimed, genuinely surprised. I couldn't even fathom how she could think that she wasn't worth all of that and much, much more. "Emmanuel is the lucky one in this relationship and if he's a smart guy he knows you're more than worth any trouble the Weasley – Potter boys could give him." Leaning over I hugged my cousin from the side, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

Turning her head, Molly looked at me and smiled. "Thanks Rosie." A silence befell the two of us and we sat in the comfortable silence for a few minutes. Finally, when Molly spoke I jumped up a bit in surprise. "I know I have to tell everyone eventually. After all, if one of the boys was to stumble upon Emmanuel and I like you did it would be awful. I just have to figure out the best way to do it. Telling everyone one by one doesn't seem like a good idea. Everyone would just pass on the information amongst themselves and then I'll have to deal with people thinking I purposely left them out."

Nodding my head, I mulled over what Molly just said. She was undeniably right. Secrets had a tendency to spread like wildfire amongst the clan. "Yes well, you have quite the situation on your hands right now." I chuckled, giving Molly an apologetic smile. I couldn't even begin to try and put myself in her shoes.

An exasperated sigh left her lips and she shook her head. "I'll figure it out Rosie, don't you worry. I feel better knowing that you're on my side."

"Of course I am!" I gave Molly one last hug before I stood up off her bed. "I'm going to get going. There's a scheduled Gryffindor – Slytherin dueling practice and I want to make sure no one dies today."

Molly laughed and nodded her head, "Good luck with that. Try not to kill Malfoy," she called after me.

"I'll do my best!" I yelled back as I left her dormitory and made my way back down to the Ravenclaw common room. I didn't bother telling Molly that I was no longer as tempted to break Malfoy's neck as I had been at the beginning of the school year. Given how volatile the ups and downs were between Malfoy and myself it seemed like it would be a premature statement. Once in the common room, I quickly headed out of the tower to avoid receiving any more curious glances. As I emerged from the Ravenclaw tower I heard someone yell my last name. Glancing to my left I saw Scorpius Malfoy heading my way.

"What were you doing in the Ravenclaw tower?" Malfoy questioned. "Not spying on them were you? While I completely approve of such actions that seems very un-Weasley like of you."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "I was not spying on them Malfoy. I went up there to talk to Molly." On the tip of my tongue rested the words 'it's none of your business'. However, remembering the way in which Malfoy had reacted to my comments yesterday I refrained from being snarky for the time being. He had completely avoided me yesterday during and after dueling practice so I was surprised that he was even talking to me at the moment.

"Oh, got it. Reckon I know what you two talked about." He revealed his revelations as the two of us began to walk downstairs.

"I reckon you do." I replied, laughing lightly.

"Everything okay?" He asked after a few seconds of silence.

I was extremely confused by the sudden interest Malfoy seemed to be showing in my relationship with Molly. Nevertheless, I nodded my head. "Yeah, everything is just fine." I paused for a few seconds, "Thanks for asking." Though I was still puzzled my Malfoy's interest it seemed only right to thank him for his odd concern.

"Uh…yeah…" Malfoy's voice trailed off revealing his surprise at my thanks.

For the remainder of our walk towards the Great Hall the two of us were silent. Upon stepping into the Great Hall, I was surprised to see that most of the dueling partners were already practicing. I turned my head and exchanged surprised smiles with Malfoy.

"Well, look at that!" I exclaimed. Malfoy opened his mouth to reply when Frank walked up to the two of us.

"Hey Rosie." He greeted, blatantly ignoring Malfoy. Before I could even greet Frank he wrapped an arm around my waist and quickly planted a kiss on my lips. To be quite honest a part of me was slightly nauseous. Kissing one of your best friends wasn't exactly very pleasant. As Frank pulled away I swallowed hard. "Hey Frank." I replied, feeling my cheeks warm up. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see the look of disgust painted across Malfoy's face. Still thoroughly embarrassed, I turned my head away from Frank and looked at Malfoy. "Let's get started." I mumbled to him. Malfoy merely glared at Frank and nodded his head. With that, I placed a hand on Frank's chest and took a step back, "I'll see you later." Turning my heel, I turned away from Frank and began to walk towards the other side of the Great Hall with Malfoy in tow.

Once I had put a decent amount of distance between Frank and myself I stopped and turned to face Malfoy. I was expecting him to say something snarky and rude but not a single word came from his lips. There was merely a curious expression gracing his admittedly handsome features.

"Which group do you want to take today?" I asked, avoiding his gaze. I knew very well that I needed to tell Frank that I didn't want this relationship to go further and I didn't need Malfoy's glance to further entrench that.

"I think we should work on us today." Was the reply that came from Malfoy. The curious phrasing of that statement caused me to look over at the Slytherin.

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"We spent all of yesterday's practice helping the others. I think that we should practice together today. After all, I don't have any faith in these bumbling baboons to win the dueling challenge so it's up to the two of us."

"Oh, yeah, right." Was my reply, shaking my head to clear myself of any and all confusion. I wasn't even sure of what I had thought he had meant. "Let's get started." My tone of voice was relatively cheery as I took out my wand.

_Scorpius_

"Get out." My voice was hardly louder than a whisper but there was a sharp undertone to it.

"What?" Claudia's shrill voice questioned from beside me. Sighing, I repeated myself without so much as pealing my eyes away from the ceiling.

"But Scorpius…" Claudia's voice trailed off and I felt the mattress shift as she moved closer to me. Clearly I had to be even more obvious about what it was that I wanted. Just as she placed her hand on my shoulder I rolled over onto my side so that my back was to her. Claudia remained perfectly still for a few seconds before she sighed and crawled out of my bed. I kept my back to her as she got dressed and stomped out of the room. Once the door had shut behind her a sigh of relief left my lips and I rolled onto my back so that I could once more look up at the ceiling. I was so very bored of Claudia that I could hardly bear it. If she hadn't made that comment about Rose last night I wouldn't have given her another second of my time. A few moments later the door to the dormitory swung open and I groaned, "I didn't mean that you could come back." I snapped, sitting up on bed. However, upon sitting up I saw that the person who had opened the door was Emmanuel, not Claudia.

"Jeez mate sorry. I can leave if you want me to." Emmanuel laughed as he let the door close behind him.

"Sorry, I thought you were Claudia." I grumbled, leaning against the headboard of my bed.

"Yeah I figured. I saw her stomping down the stairs on my way up here." Emmanuel smirked, clearly amused by the situation. "What did you do that's got her PMSing more than usual?" Emmanuel sat down on his bed and sighed happily, stretching out.

I shrugged my shoulders before rolling my eyes, "I'm just bored of her." I admitted.

"So tell her you're bored of her and find someone more interesting." Emmanuel's voice was very matter of fact. He leaned over the edge of his bed and picked up a textbook, rifling through it as if he had nothing better to do.

"She's just so damn clingy." I muttered considering whether or not to tell him about Claudia's comment from the night before.

"Your girls are always clingy." Emmanuel replied, glancing at me for a moment before returning to his reading.

"Yeah but she thinks I've been ignoring her because of all the time I've been spending with that Weasley girl." After I said that I didn't look over at Emmanuel. I still couldn't, for the life of me, understand why I had let Claudia's talk me into keeping her around in the way she had.

"So what?" Emmanuel questioned, sounding honestly confused. Turning my head, I looked over at Emmanuel to notice that he had closed his textbook and was giving me a perplexed look.

"What do you mean so what?" Furrowing my brows, I acted like the answer should be obvious to him even when it wasn't so clear to me. "I don't want her thinking that there's something going on between myself and Rose Weasley. You know how big of a mouth Claudia has. Next thing you know all of Slytherin thinks I'm in bed with one of the Gryffindor princesses."

"Scorp, you and Rose Weasley are constantly trying to tear each other's throats out like a pair of trained fighting dogs. I doubt anyone would ever take such a rumor seriously." Emmanuel raised his eyebrows at me. "Just ignore Claudia and her obnoxious statements and focus on the inter-house challenge. You have to work with Rose to win the challenge and that's what you should do."

Clearing my throat, I nodded my head. "Yeah, your right."

Emmanuel laughed and opened his book once more. "Of course I'm right. Besides, even if you wanted to get Rose Weasley into bed you wouldn't be able to."

Arching a brow I lowered my chin and gave Emmanuel a pointed look. "You're joking right?" In the back of my mind I tried to suspend reality for a second and tried to imagine actually wanting some sort of physical relationship with Rose Weasley. Oddly enough I didn't find it all that difficult and I quickly had to put the thought out of my mind to avoid confusing myself further.

Emmanuel laughed, "Not in the least. That's one girl that you will never get into that bed with you." Another loud laugh escaped Emmanuel before he turned back to his textbook for good. Rolling my eyes, I jumped out of bed and began to get dressed for dueling practice. Emmanuel had been right about one thing today – it was stupid to worry about Claudia thinking that I had anything going on with Rose. I was done with Claudia regardless of whether or not she decided to tell people I was fooling around with Rose Weasley. No one would believe her any way. As for Emmanuel's opinion on the matter I knew he was dead wrong but that was a non starter considering I would never even try such a thing.


	15. thank your unlucky stars

**A/N: You guys are absolutely fantastic! Thanks for the reviews/favoriting/alert - listing! I wish I could have put that in a more eloquent manner but I think y'all know what I'm talking about. Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome. If there's anything you really want to see in the story let me know and it just might happen. In some news... I went to the HP midnight premier the other night. It's the first time I've been to a midnight showing and it was awesome. That is all I am going to say. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned, but alas I do not!**

_Scorpius_

After a whole month of dueling practice it was almost time for the tournament to begin. This afternoon's practice would be our very last and so far it seemed to be going reasonably well. At the very least it was going far better than I had ever anticipated. When Molly and Emmanuel had first announced that the next challenge would be a dueling tournament my version of the best possible outcome had been making it to the day of the tournament without any of the teammates severely injuring or killing one another. "You need to move your feet faster!" I snapped upon noticing that one of my fellow Slytherins was displaying the agility of a tree stump. "If you keep your feet planted like that during the tournament you'll be easier to pick off than a first year." Just to make my point I directed a hex towards the boy's feet causing him to stumble and fall onto his back. A well placed sneer was my only additional input.

Glancing across the Great Hall I spotted Rose speaking fervently to a team of fifth years. She was motioning wildly with her hands and though I could tell that she was quite annoyed with the pair it didn't look like she was yelling at them or even chastising them. With a shake of my head a smirk began to tug at the corners of my lips. Despite the fact that she had a knack for infuriating me to no end I had to admit that Rose could display considerable tact with other people. She had the kind of finesse with people that I could never possess. Keeping an eye on the other dueling teams I began to pick my way across the Great Hall, ducking when necessary to avoid being hit by a stray hex. As I made my way towards Rose an odd feeling came over me, as if I was being watched. Stopping in my tracks I glanced over my shoulder to notice that Frank Longbottom was keeping an eye on me. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes and wrinkled my nose in disgust. My right hand itched to send a curse his way to teach him a lesson but I refrained. If I were to attack Longbottom it would probably cause a rift in the delicate balance we had achieved.

After a few minutes I had managed to pick my way across the Great Hall and I found my way over to Rose. As I came to stand next to her she turned her head and grinned, catching me off guard. I wasn't exactly used to Rose Weasley directing positive emotions at me. Then again, thanks to all of these dueling practices we had come a long way in the last month. While we had in fact blown up at each other a number of times in the last month neither of us had held grudges. We had developed a rather interesting dynamic but I liked it – in a weird way.

"Not bad eh?" I arched a brow as I kept my gaze firmly planted on the dueling pairs in front of us.

"Not bad at all. I think we actually have a shot at winning this challenge." The chipper tone in Rose's voice would have given even the biggest pessimist among us some hope.

"Yeah, I think we do." Crossing my arms, I nodded my head despite the fact that I wasn't as sure about the whole thing as Rose seemed to be. However, I wasn't about to go and deflate her joyous mood. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do at the moment. After a few seconds of silence I turned my head to look at her, "Though I still don't trust any of them to actually win this thing."

Upon hearing those words Rose turned her head to look at me, a brow arched and a smirk dancing across her lips. By now I knew very well what that look meant, she obviously had something snarky to say to me. "What, you think you're better than every other student here?"

"Frankly yes." I blinked, keeping my facial expression as neutral as possible. "Even with your bumbling skills I think we're the best team to come out of this weird Slytherin – Gryffindor partnership." Referring to Rose's dueling skills as bumbling was to do her a great injustice but I couldn't help myself. Teasing Rose Weasley was far too much fun for me to pass up an opportunity.

"Oh, my bumbling skills? Aren't you the one who dropped their wand during a duel the other day?" Rose had turned her whole body to face me and she was holding back laughter.

Frowning, I thinly pressed my lips together. She made a valid point. "That was a freak accident. I was distracted." I threw in a stern nod for good measure. The truth was that I simply hadn't been paying much attention the other day.

"Oh really, by what?" Tilting her head to the side Rose looked at me curiously.

My mind began to work furiously in search of an excuse but I couldn't come up with anything that sounded even remotely plausible. I was not about to admit that I had merely spaced out. Clearing my throat I narrowed my eyes and took a small step closer to Rose, "There's this really huge zit on your forehead that just threw me off yesterday. You know it's still there." Raising a hand I pretended to point to it.

"Malfoy there's no giant zit on my forehead." Rose raised a hand and swatted at mine, "Knock it off."

The annoyed expression on her face was immensely entertaining and I couldn't help but laugh. In turn, my laughter became contagious and Rose joined in.

"You're right Weasley, there's no giant zit on your face. I was just distracted by your incredibly ugly face." The words had slipped out of my mouth before I could even think that they might anger her. Staring a quarrel with Rose was not on my to – do list at the moment. However, the tone in my voice was more teasing than it was cruel. Quite a change from the start of the year. Rose seemed to notice my tone of voice and instead of getting mad at me she merely rolled her eyes and pushed my shoulder.

"Malfoy, if you can stand to see your hideous face in the mirror every morning my face should be a glorious respite." A smirk and narrowed eyes accompanied the snarky response.

Despite myself I laughed and with a shake of my head turned my attention back onto the dueling pairs. I could see Frank Longbottom eyeing the two of us but I ignored him. If the jealous boyfriend wanted to get his knickers in a twist because Rose was having a conversation with me it was not my problem. That was between him and the therapist he was sure to have in the future.

"Weasley, do you want to get in some more practice before the tournament?" When I had said to Rose that I didn't trust any of the other teams to win the tournament I hadn't been entirely truthful. While I didn't give any of the other duos a high probability of winning the tournament I couldn't deny that some of them had a chance. The truth was however, that I wanted to be the one to win the tournament.

"Yeah of course. But when? We have to leave the Great Hall in ten minutes."

Turning my head to look at Rose I grinned, "Meet me here at half past midnight." With that, I turned on my heel and started to head towards a duo that appeared to want to kill each other. I wasn't going to give Rose the opportunity to protest my idea.

_Rose_

The rest of the girls in my dormitory had gone to bed about an hour ago and so the room was pitch black. Consequently, my motions were very slow and deliberate as I got out of bed and tiptoed around the room. I did not want to make any excess noise and then have to explain exactly where I was going to a group of very tired and irritated teenage girls. In the back of my mind I began to curse Scorpius. He had thrown the whole midnight practice business at me and then he had walked away without giving me a chance to protest or even suggest an alternate meeting time. Quickly and quietly I threw on the jeans, tank – top and cardigan I had laid out on top of my trunk before getting into bed. After grabbing my wand and slipping my feet into a pair of flats I crept out of the dormitory, carefully closing the door behind me. I let out a sigh of relief once the door clicked shut.

My relief however was short lived. Once I started making my way down the stairs I noticed that the common room was currently occupied by none other than one Frank Longbottom. My mind quickly stopped cursing Scorpius and went to cursing Frank for being out in the middle of the night. I still hadn't told Frank that I wanted to remain just friends so I had kept myself as busy as possible this past month in order to limit the amount of extremely awkward kisses, touches and other affectionate moments. Upon reaching the last stair the floor creaked, drawing Frank's attention. Damn.

"Oh, Rosie, what are you doing up?" Frank grinned at me broadly as he made his way over to where I was standing. His broad smile and bright eyes made my pang of guilt even more painful. Before I could answer, Frank had wrapped his arm around my waist and had planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. Sighing, I closed my eyes and leaned in to him, my chin resting on his shoulder. Things would be so easy if I actually liked Frank in the way he liked me. Every single one of my female cousins thought we were the perfect couple and even my ridiculously overprotective male relatives were okay with my being in a relationship with Frank. Standing in stark contrast to that reaction was the fact that they had nearly beat up my first boyfriend two years ago.

As I felt Frank wrap his other arm around my waist I snapped out of my thoughts and pulled back, putting some distance between the two of us. "I um," I paused, clearing my throat, "left something in the Great Hall." I had the feeling that telling Frank that I was going to meet Scorpius was a bad idea.

"Oh, I'll come with you." The eager expression on Frank's face made me want to crawl under a rock and stay there for the remainder of the year.

"No. It's fine. I like walking around alone at this time of the night." It was a terrible excuse but Frank seemed to buy it. After kissing the top of my head he went back to the book he had been reading on the couch. After giving him one last smile I turned around and headed out of the common room. Once I was out in the hall my mind went back to cursing Scorpius. I wasn't a huge fan of walking around the castle at night unescorted. It was all fun and games when I had someone with me but the castle was a bit creepy when I was alone.

Not wanting to attract any unwanted attention to myself I refrained from illuminating my wand and made my way down to the Great Hall as quickly as possible. Once inside the Great Hall I took note of the fact that the two long tables had been put back in their place. Other than the two tables however I couldn't spot a single thing.

"Malfoy?" I hissed as I took a few steps around the hall, looking out for any sign of the Slytherin. "Malfoy I swear if you pop out and try to scare me I'll kill you." There still wasn't an answer. With a sigh I turned around only to find myself face to face with a smirking Scorpius Malfoy. Despite myself I gasped in surprise and my hands flew to my mouth to prevent a scream from coming out. A second later, when my brain had processed the fact that it was just Scorpius, I slapped the back of his head. "What did I say?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him.

"You said you'd kill me if I _tried_ to scare you. Turns out I succeeded so you can't do much about it." The cocky tone in his voice was matched by a cheeky grin. I didn't even try to conceal my frustration as I rolled my eyes and began to mutter under my breath.

"Now, now, Weasley, we don't have time for your antics this evening. We need to get some practice in and then get to bed so we're not too tired in the morning." The self-righteous tone in Scorpius' voice would have been more entertaining if I were better rested. Scorpius began to walk towards the teachers table and I glared at his back.

"Oh, it's my antics now?" I called after him. I stood my ground for a few seconds before sighing and starting to follow Scorpius. Before I could even blink Scorpius spun on his heel, pointed his wand at me and fired a curse. Instinctively, I dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. "What the bloody hell Malfoy!" I exclaimed while I was still on the ground.

"Practicing of course" was the reply he gave; in a chipper tone nonetheless. I reached for my wand but before I could get it out of my pocket Scorpius fired another hex in my direction.

Grumbling to myself I rolled to the right, shielding myself under the Ravenpuff table. As the hex was deflected by the table I pulled my wand out of my pocket, holding it firmly in my right hand. Quickly I rolled out from under the table and sent a jinx at Scorpius' feet, knocking him backwards. Now that Scorpius was on his back I used the momentary respite to get back on my feet. "You could have given me some warning." I snapped.

"Yes, because our opponents tomorrow are going to give you a head start." Sarcasm was practically dripping off of each of Scorpius' words as he made a move to get back onto his feet.

"That's true." I shrugged, agreeing with Scorpius. In the spirit of agreeing with Scorpius' assessment I sent a 'stupefy' hex in his direction. Scorpius was faster than I anticipated and he quickly blocked the spell. Despite myself I couldn't help but smile as he scrambled to his feet and sent a hex my way. I blocked the spell as fast as I could before backtracking towards the Slythindor table. As I felt my legs hit the bench of the Slythindor table I charmed a few candlestick holders and sent them flying towards Scorpius.

"Damn it Weasley!" Scorpius exclaimed before deflecting a few of the candlesticks and then dropping to the ground to avoid the others. Though he was yelling at me there was an evident tone of amusement in his voice. I too had a smile on my face. As I was looking for something else to hit Scorpius with he sent a spell in my direction and before I could block it, it had hit me square in the chest and I went flying over the Slythindor table, landing on the other side. As I lay on the floor I groaned in pain.

It was soft but I could hear Scorpius mutter "shit" under his breath.

Even though my arm was impeccably sore I picked myself up and fired a stunning spell at Scorpius. The spell caught him off guard and he was sent flying against the nearest wall. "Now we're even." I called out to him.

Scorpius quickly picked himself up and when I looked at him I could see a smile prominently displayed on his face. I laughed upon seeing the look on his face, finding it absolutely ridiculous that the two of us were having this much fun dueling each other. There was a moment in which Scorpius and I locked eyes and with smirks gracing both of our faces we fired hexes at each other. The spells met in the middle of the Great Hall and pushed against each other. One moment it looked like I would overtake Scorpius and the next it seemed as if Scorpius would over take me.

"Malfoy!" I yelled across the hall, refusing to drop my wand.

"You first!" Was the response I received.

"No!"

"Fine. At the same time."

"Okay." A moment later we both lowered our wands and the spells dissipated leaving the Great Hall pitch black once more. My breathing was heavy and I could hear Malfoy panting from where he was standing. Neither of us said anything but we both began to head towards the double doors leading out of the Great Hall. We met at the entranceway and smirked at each other.

"You know Malfoy, I'm glad you're on my team." I couldn't imagine having to duel Malfoy in the tournament simply because it would take forever for a winner to be declared.

"Who wouldn't be?" Malfoy smirked and winked at me.

While I had been expecting that sort of response I had also been hoping that Scorpius would surprise me. Sighing, I shook my head. "You know that is – ". Scorpius held his hand up to cut me off and I pressed my lips thinly together.

"I'm glad you're on my team too Weasley." Scorpius lowered his hand to reveal a small smile as he nodded his head.

To say I was surprised would have been a massive understatement. With wide eyes I nodded my head and allowed a small smile to tug at my lips. "Good." I replied with another nod before turning on my heel and heading towards the stairs. "Good night Malfoy."

"Night Weasley! Don't hurt yourself on the way to bed. I'd hate to have to switch partners in the morning." Scorpius' laughter filled the hall as I rolled my eyes and headed towards the Gryffindor tower.


	16. the tournament

**A/N:You guys are absolutely fantastic! Every time I saw that I had a new review I was SO super excited and they all made me smileo. Thank you so much! To those of you who added this story to their favorites/alert list a HUGE thank you to you as well. The response to the last chapter was great and I hope you guys like this chapter just as, if not more, than the last one. As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome and I would love to hear any and all of the ideas y'all have. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot really... wish I did!**

The following morning I was awoken by the hustle and bustle created by the other girls in my dormitory as they got ready for the day ahead. Groaning, I rolled over onto my side and winced in pain. Though my eyes felt heavy with exhaustion I opened them to see that I had a very large bruise on my forearm.

"Malfoy…" I grumbled angrily under my breath. While our practice session the other night had been loads of fun and undoubtedly helpful in preparation for today's tournament, I was still going to get him back for giving me this nasty bruise.

"Girls, our Rosie seems to be dreaming about Scorpius Malfoy!" A light, airy laugh followed the teasing announcement.

With a frown prominently displayed across my face I rolled onto my back and sat up so I could see who exactly it was that thought they were so incredibly witty. My eyes locked with those of Emily Boot and I narrowed my gaze. "I am not dreaming about Scorpius Malfoy." I replied haughtily, tilting my head slightly to the left. A smile plastered itself on Emily's face and she opened her mouth to reply. However, before she could get out a single word I picked up my pillow and threw it at her, managing to hit her square in the face.

"Rose!" She exclaimed, wrinkling her nose at me. The unhappy look on her face was too much for me to handle with a straight face and I began to laugh. As I laughed my pillow flew back across the room, smacking me in the face. As the pillow fell away from my scrunched up expression, Emily began to giggle. I opened my mouth to protest but this time Emily was the one to cut me off, "You started it!" She exclaimed, pointing her index finger at me.

I narrowed my eyes at her but decided to give her a reprieve from the physical abuse, "I needed to pay you back for the emotional distress you caused me by mentioning Malfoy's name. It's quite a distressing thing to have to hear first thing in the morning." My tone of voice was very matter – of – fact and I threw Emily a cheeky grin as I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up.

Emily let out her trademark airy laugh, shaking her head at me. "I could say so many things to you right now Rosie but I'll be the bigger person and refrain."

As I walked around my bed, towards my trunk, I arched a brow and slowly turned my head to the left in order to look at Emily. "Oh really Boot? Out with it, let's hear it." I demanded. I had a feeling that Emily wanted to comment on my new and much improved relationship with Scorpius but I wanted to hear her vocalize it.

Emily merely grinned at me and shook her head, "You have to get dressed. We can't have you being late for the tournament." To emphasize her point she pointed her brush at me before smiling and bounding into the bathroom.

A few chuckles escaped my lips as I shook my head and returned my attention to the contents of my trunk. With the tournament in mind I pulled out a pair of comfortable, worn-in jeans and a blue long – sleeved top. Just as I began to change my shirt the door to the dormitory opened up and Lily bounded in, a broad smile on her bright face.

"You look remarkably happy with yourself Lils." I remarked as began to pull my shirt over my head. Even though my shirt was currently covering my eyes I could hear the squeaking of my mattress as Lily jumped up onto my bed and made herself comfortable.

"I'm just so excited!" Lily exclaimed, throwing me my jeans.

"Ready to beat some Ravenpuffs?" I asked with a laugh as I finished getting dressed. Slipping some sneakers on I wandered over to my mirror and put my hair up into a high ponytail, not wanting to run the risk of being blinded by my mass of red hair during a duel. After having applied a small amount of make – up I grabbed my wand off the night table and placed it in my front pocket. "Okay Lils, let's get this show on the road!" Lily's excitement had seemingly rubbed off on me and there was now a wild smile on my face.

Lily nodded and jumped off of my bed, leading the way out of the dormitory and down into the common room. Small clusters of Gryffindor students had gathered in every nook and cranny of the common room, speaking in excited whispers and creating a buzzing energy throughout the tower. Even those students not participating in the tournament were letting it be known how excited they were to have the opportunity to watch such an event. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Lily exclaimed, clapping her hands. Despite myself I laughed and followed her out of the Gryffindor tower and towards the Great Hall. The energy that had been present in the Gryffindor common room had perforated into the hallways of the castle. The halls were abuzz, groups of students were chatting excitedly in every corner and there were a few students running around, weaving in and out of the moving crowd. Even the portraits appeared to be quite enthused over what was to take place in a very short period of time.

"I've never see the castle like this." I remarked to Lily upon entering the Great Hall. The two massive Slythindor and Ravenpuff tables were alive with anxious chatter.

"Well the Professors have never given us permission to fire hexes at each other before." Lily stated simply, a smirk on her face.

"Hm, true." With that I shut my mouth and followed Lily to the front of the Slythindor table. Taking my seat, I glanced at the Professor's table. In front of the long table stood Molly and Emmanuel, gazing upon the nearly full hall as a mother hen would look upon its chicks. The pair turned to each other and began to speak in hushed tones. As they exchanged words I took note of the way in which they looked at each other. Molly's eyes easily betrayed the adoration she felt for Emmanuel and likewise the Slytherin could not hide the respect and protective instinct he had for my dear cousin. The two of them were so disgustingly adorable that if Molly had not been my cousin I would have subjected her to countless hours of teasing. Chances were that once Molly and Emmanuel made their relationship public I would let loose all of the jokes that had been building in my mind for the past month. For now though Molly had enough to deal with in the form of coming up with a way to break the news to the circus troupe otherwise known as the Weasley – Potter clan. From the conversations I had, had with Molly as of late it seemed as if Emmanuel wanted them to go public. He had however agreed to give her more time to tell the family. After all, the young man probably wasn't too excited for the moment when every male member of the Weasley – Potter clan would be eager to 'have a word' with him.

As I turned my head away from the couple my eyes lingered on the blonde head of Scorpius Malfoy. He was sitting down and across the Slythindor table, merely a few feet away. As our eyes met Scorpius wrinkled his nose and pretended to gag as he nodded towards Molly and Emmanuel. Despite myself I let out a small giggle. Not wanting to encourage Scorpius' behavior however, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. For his part, Scorpius merely mimicked my actions in an exaggerated manner. In faux annoyance I widened my eyes and made a move to mouth a retort to him.

"Rosie, what are you doing?" Lily questioned from across the table. Lily's question forced me to end my strange exchange with Scorpius and turn my attention towards her.

I blinked a few times to bring myself into the present moment. "Nothing," was my simple reply. An annoyed look flashed across Lily's face but before she could utter a single complaint Emmanuel's low, steady and reassuring voice cut through all of the chatter in the Great Hall.

"If I could just have everyone's attention for a minute please." The manner in which Emmanuel spoke, coupled with the fact that everyone was anxious to hear what he had to say, led the Great Hall to fall into silence within seconds. "Thank You." An excruciatingly long pause followed, building the tension and anticipation in the room. On the other side of the hall someone dropped a piece of silverware, leading a loud, clinking noise to reverberate around the hall. No one moved and no one made another noise and so Emmanuel cleared his throat and continued, "To my right, under that red covering, is a board that displays the bracket for the dueling tournament. Over the next two days that is where you will go to see which team you shall be dueling and where exactly in the castle that duel shall take place. When a team wins a duel they will automatically advance in the bracket. Those of you not dueling are welcome to look at the board, take note of where each duel is taking place, and to watch whichever duels you wish as long as there is space."

With that, Emmanuel took out his wand, flicked it and off flew the red drape that had been covering the bracket board. For a few seconds, no one moved. Then all of a sudden a wave of people began to rush towards the board in order to see the match – ups. I turned my attention to where Lily should have been sitting however she too had rushed off to see which duo she would be dueling. With a sigh I stood up and began to calmly make my way over to the bracket board. As I pushed my way through the crowd I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. Turning my head I noticed that, that hand belonged to Scorpius.

"It's like a mad house in here." He grumbled, furrowing his brows in annoyance.

Laughing, I nodded my head in agreement. "Very well put Malfoy." I was forced to raise my voice so that I could be heard over the other students as they shouted to their partners.

"Come on," Malfoy muttered, grabbing my wrist and beginning to lead me through the crowd. At first I was surprised by this seemingly simple action. Never before had Scorpius and I maintained prolonged physical contact. Sure, I had shoved him a couple of times but this was different, this was his attempt to help me through the pushy crowd that had gathered around the board. It was a positive touch, not a negative one. To be quite honest in the back of my mind I was surprised that, given the substance of many of our previous arguments, Scorpius didn't think that he would somehow become contaminated by touching me for so long.

With Scorpius and his commandeering personality at the helm the two of us quickly found our way to the front of the crowd. Now that we had made our way through the crowd, Scorpius slowly peeled his fingers from around my wrist. The feeling of his hand on my skin lingered for a few moments, almost as if my skin wanted to feel his again. Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the task of figuring out who Scorpius and I would be dueling first. Lifting my chin, I gazed up at the large bracket board in an attempt to find either my name or Scorpius'. There were so many names on the board that my eyes darted around without any strategy or method. After searching for a few moments I found Scorpius' name with mine right next to it. I reached my hand out and grabbed Scorpius' sleeve, giving it a tug.

"What?" He snapped, turning his head in my direction.

"Calm yourself Malfoy. I found our names." Scorpius seemed rather testy at the present moment and I was tempted to slap him clear across the back of the head. Resisting the urge I lifted my hand and pointed to where I had spotted our names.

"Oh, yeah, right," came the muttered response as he turned his gaze onto the area where I was pointing. The two names next to ours in the bracket were only vaguely familiar to me. The Ravenclaw boy was a sixth year prefect that I had come across on a few of my patrols while the Hufflepuff girl was a seventh year who I knew to be particularly gifted at Charms.

"Well, at the very least this will be interesting." Though I was doing my very best to sound calm and confident the truth was that I was extremely nervous for this first duel. After all, for the past six years I had excelled in all of my classes, showing prowess during both written and practical exams. This however, this dueling tournament, mimicked potential real life situations far better than an exam ever could. If I didn't do well in this tournament then all of my scholastic achievements would be forgotten and discounted. On top of all of that it would be extremely embarrassing if it were to get out that the eldest child of Ron and Hermione Weasley couldn't hold her own in a simple school duel. It didn't help my nerves that our very first duel was against relatively formidable opponents.

"That's not a very eloquent comment Weasley," Malfoy arched a brow as he turned to look at me. His steely eyes looked at me inquisitively. "After all that transpired during the Quidditch challenge I was expecting you to come up with some sort of poetic pep talk." The crowd in the Great Hall was beginning to thin out as teams went to their respective rooms, often followed by the younger students who wished to observe.

"I thought you hated those pep talks Malfoy." Now it was my turn to look inquisitive. I couldn't figure out if he was teasing me or if he actually wanted to hear me give a pep talk.

Rather than providing me with a clear cut answer Scorpius merely shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands into his pockets, turning his gaze onto the bracket board. "Whatever floats your boat Weasley."

"Malfoy, that's not an answer." My brows were furrowed and I looked at him, making every effort to suppress my exasperated laughter.

"Let's go Weasley. We have to get up to the corridor on the seventh floor. Bloody ridiculous place for us to have a duel if you ask me, all the way up on the seventh floor." Scorpius nodded towards the entrance of the Great Hall before he started to walk off. "I was hoping for some sort of audience but I doubt we'll get one now. Who the else would want to trek all the way up there? Ridiculous."

Rolling my eyes I begrudgingly began to follow after him. As payment for his infuriating refusal to give me a straight answer I decided I was going to give Scorpius a pep talk, whether he liked it or not. A mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of my lips as I trailed after him, "You know Malfoy, we've been practicing for a whole month and we've made a lot of progress. I mean we were both highly skilled before this month but I think that…"

As we began to walk up the stairs Scorpius interrupted me, "Weasley, what are you rambling on about?" Though he kept a stony, neutral expression on his face I could hear a hint of amusement in his tone of voice.

"I'm giving you a pep talk Malfoy!" I exclaimed innocently, widening my eyes for effect. "After all, isn't that what you wanted?" Turning my head, I threw him a cheeky smile before I sped up so that I could walk a few paces ahead of him. "Now, where was I before you rudely interrupted me? Oh right! Well, in this past month I think we've learned a lot from each other and from having to keep the rest of our housemates from killing each other..."

From behind me I could hear Scorpius let out a chuckle. Despite the laughter there were no words of protests.

_Scorpius_

The word exhausted did not even begin to describe how worn out I was. The first day of the tournament had been rough for everyone but it had been particularly tough on the Slytherin – Gryffindor combination teams. Despite the countless hours of practice that had gone just right, at the end of the day centuries – old prejudices had won out over the progress that had been made in the two months since the start of the term. Though a large percentage of our teams were highly – skilled and well – practiced, many of them had defeated themselves by turning on their partners. There was only one reported incident of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin actually turning their wands on one another but many of the other students had simply stopped cooperating with their partners, giving their Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff opponents the upper hand and granting them an easy win. Once the tournament had made it to the octofinal stage Emmanuel and Molly had called it a day and had announced that the tournament would resume at nine in the morning the following day. Out of the sixteen teams in the octofinals only six of those were Slytherin – Gryffindor teams. Clearly the Ravenpuffs were in the lead in terms of accumulated points for this challenge but they were also in a better position to win the whole blasted tournament.

Sighing, I ran a hand over my face and suppressed a yawn. At the present moment Rose and I were sitting in the Great Hall with the other remaining Slythindor teams trying to work out a game plan for tomorrow. A few of the Ravenpuff teams didn't even have to duel for a spot in the quarterfinals and so they would be better rested during the later stages of the tournament. As such, we were trying to figure out how to best conserve energy tomorrow.

"The only thing we can do is win each duel as quickly and efficiently as possible," Adeline Crowley stated as she looked up from the Charms book in front of her. Next to her sat her partner, Lily Potter. It was an odd combination, to have a seventh year and fifth year paired together, but the duo had come this far so they were clearly doing something right.

"True," Rose nodded her head, "The longer we spend dueling a respective team the less energy we have for the next round."

From my seat beside her I could see that she too was absolutely exhausted. Her red hair had come out of its high ponytail and now sat in messy waves around her shoulders, dark circles were starting to form under her usually bright eyes and the small smile on her face seemed forced. However, the Gryffindor was trying to seem as alert as possible. I had the feeling that she felt the need to set a strong example for the others. Throughout the day Rose and I had gone around to the other teams to encourage them and to sort out disagreements. If she betrayed the fact that she was exhausted and disheartened then that would probably demoralize the other ten students. To be quite honest it was a comfort to me that she was managing to hold everything together.

A moment of silence fell upon us and in that moment several yawns were heard. With a glance towards the clock I took note of the fact that it was already half past eleven. We had been trying to strategize for the last two hours and the last half hour had been particularly unproductive.

"I think it's time we all went to bed," I announced deciding to take charge of the situation. "We all need to get some rest and we can always look for a few more charms in the morning." Every muscle in my body was aching at the moment and I made a mental note to take further revenge upon the team we had defeated in the third round. Murmurs of agreement were heard from the others at the table and one by one they began to get up and walk out of the Great Hall.

Grabbing the textbooks I had brought up earlier, I stacked them one on top of the other and got ready to head down into the dungeons. Just as I was about to stand up I noticed that Rose was still focused on the History of Magic textbook in front of her. Sighing, I rolled my eyes in exasperation. This was such a typical Rose Weasley move. "Weasley, come on, put the book away and get to bed." There was a stern, demanding tone in my voice and it caused her to peel her eyes away from the book and look up at me with an annoyed stare. Ignoring the look she was giving me I continued, "Everyone knows how bloody studious you are so you don't need to try and prove it by being the last one here." It was then that I realized exactly what it was that she was reading, "What in the world are you doing with a History of Magic textbook anyway? I don't think that this is the right moment to start reading for fun." If Rose was too exhausted to duel properly in the morning because she had become absorbed in the story of the eighth Goblin War I was going to personally hex her and her beloved books into oblivion.

"I'm not trying to prove anything Malfoy," Rose snapped, her tone of voice betraying the fact that she was extremely annoyed with me at the moment. She narrowed her eyes at me and I saw her bite down onto her lower lip as if there was something on the tip of her tongue that she did not want to let slip. Clearly a tired Rose was a cranky one. "I'm reading this History of Magic book because I've already gone through our Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense books. There's nothing in any of those books that we don't already know."

I was silent for a moment, waiting for her to continue. However it became apparent that after I had snapped at her she wasn't going to just reveal what she was thinking. Sighing, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Okay Weasley, I'll bite. What are you looking for in the History book that wasn't in any of those other textbooks?"

"I'm not entirely sure," was her reply. The reply was followed by a shrug of her shoulders, "I was just thinking that maybe these books will mention some spells we haven't learned that we can use tomorrow and catch our opponents off guard. All of these great witches and wizards had to have known some interesting jinxes and curses."

A disgruntled look crossed my face as I had to admit to myself that it was a pretty good idea. By now Rose had turned her attention back onto the textbook.

"Aren't you going to bed Malfoy?" She inquired; an amused tone in her voice as she flipped the page of her book.

"No." I grumbled unhappily as I opened my History of Magic textbook and shoved the rest of my books off to the side. A light giggle passed through Rose's lips and I glanced at her out of the corners of my eyes, "What are you laughing at Weasley?" I asked even though I knew perfectly well why she was so amused.

"You," was the simple reply. There was no hint of malice in Rose's voice, only amusement. Despite a valient effort not to, I cracked a smile before I began to skim through my History of Magic textbook.


	17. on the edge of glory

**A/N: Hello everyone! I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has added this story to their story alert list/favorite list and most certainly to those of you who put me on their favorite author list, it means a lot! A huge thank you to all of you who reviewed! I absolutely LOVE reading your reviews, they make me smile and give me tons of motivation to write. There are a few of you who I could not personally send a message to so, thanks again to you guys! This is a relatively lengthy chapter (I think it might be the longest chapter in the series so far). I had tons of fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome and if you have any ideas for the story, I would love to hear them. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own! I am merely adding to the wonderful world J.K. Rowling created.**

_Scorpius_

The right side of my face was numb and I let a groan slip through my lips as an expression of the discomfort I was feeling. It was then that I realized that my face was not the only part of my body facing extreme discomfort at the present moment. My left leg was starting to tingle and my upper right arm was feeling exceptionally sore. Wondering why on earth I was in so much pain so early in the morning I opened my eyes and was stunned to see Rose Weasley's face a few inches away from mine. My eyes widened and I quickly picked up my head in shock. As my eyes swept around the Great Hall, realization came over me. Apparently while Rose and I had been researching last night we had fallen asleep with our heads planted on the Slythindor table.

Running my right hand over my face, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before stretching out my arms. My back was a bit sore as well but that was to be expected considering the fact that I had fallen asleep while sitting at a wooden table. Dropping my gaze down onto Rose's sleeping form I couldn't help but think of how uncomfortable she would be when I woke her up. Half of me felt bad for her while the other half couldn't wait to hear the string of angry remarks that would surely spill forth from her mouth. Stretching out my arm, I placed my left hand on her extended left arm and gave it a small shake. When there was no response I lifted my hand onto her shoulder and shook a little harder.

A groan was heard from Rose as she moved her head, causing a few strands of red hair to fall into her face. Sniggering, I halted my attempts to wake her for a brief moment. It was very strange for me to see Rose asleep. This was a very, for lack of a better word, _intimate _moment. Granted, in this case the word intimate did not mean romantic, but it was still very personal. Falling asleep while studying was the sort of comical situation that would arise between two close friends, not between two people who had publicly declared their hatred for one another. Perhaps Rose and I were actually becoming friends. Much to my own surprise a friendship with Rose was something that I was willing to consider.

Considering the fact that Rose was still fast asleep she was extremely vulnerable and I could get away with doing just about anything to her right now. Two months ago I would have concocted something cruel. At this point however my intention was simply to have a bit of good – natured fun at her expense.

I gave my wand a small flick, stacking the ten or so textbooks on the table on top of one another. Not wanting to be in the line of fire in case Rose reached for her wand, I stood up from the table and took a few steps back. With a smirk prominently displayed across my face, I levitated the textbooks so that they were hovering right in front of Rose's face. With another flick, all ten books came crashing down onto the wooden table, creating a noise that reverberated through the Great Hall and out into the corridor.

Just as I had hoped, Rose bolted up, her blue eyes wide in shock. She gasped loudly and glanced around the Great Hall in search of any danger. Her reaction was so frenzied that I couldn't help but laugh from where I was standing a few feet behind the Slythindor table. My laughter seemed to bring Rose to her senses and the wild expression on her face vanished, replaced by pure irritation. The quick shift in emotions only made me laugh harder.

"Oh, I'm sorry Weasley!" I exclaimed, feigning surprise, "Did I, uh, startle you?" The question was accompanied by my pointing at myself and then at her. "For surely, that was not my attention." My laughter had ceased but there was a still broad smile on my face as I looked at Rose in amusement. As I saw Rose reach for her wand however, my smile faltered slightly. I knew perfectly well what she was capable of and I was not in the mood to go to the Hospital Wing. "Now hold it right there Weasley, we have a tournament to win. It'll be very difficult for you to do so without a partner." I did my best to give her a stern look.

Rose however, was not dissuaded by my plea for immunity from reprisal. With a flick of her wand she sent all ten textbooks hurtling my way and the only thing I could do to avoid being hit was to duck. The textbooks hit the opposite wall of the Great Hall with a loud banging noise before they all crashed onto the stone floor. I glanced over my shoulder and only when I was sure that every single textbook had fallen to the ground did I turn around and pick up my head. At this point Rose was smirking, her eyes betraying how amused she was.

"Feel better now?" I asked, brushing off my wrinkled robes. There was a tinge of sarcasm in my voice. It wasn't heavy but there was enough for Rose to pick up on.

"Loads, thanks for asking." My sarcasm was met by cheekiness.

"Guess I deserved that." With a chuckle I wandered back over to the Slythindor table. Not wanting to give Rose any other excuses to use her wand I took out my own and levitated the textbooks back onto the table.

"What time is it?" Rose questioned before letting out a small yawn. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and turned away from me until she had finished. I couldn't help but grin at the polite action. After a moment of silence I remembered that she had asked a question and I pulled back the sleeve of my robe to glance down at the watch on my right wrist.

"Five after six," the pair of us were going on less than six hours of sleep but luckily I could already feel the adrenaline starting to kick in.

Rose groaned and with a soft smile on my face, I looked down at her. She was rubbing her eyes trying to get rid of the last remnants of sleep. Clearly the young woman was not much of a morning person. My gaze left Rose's face and dropped down to the twin lists we had written up last night before falling asleep. Rose's idea to sift through History of Magic books had paid off and we had come up with ten crafty jinxes and charms that we could use throughout the rest of the tournament. Even though Rose and I had been at each others throats for the last six years I had never once been able to deny the fact that she was a smart young woman. Now I also had to admit that on top of book smarts she was also quite creative. I would have never thought to look through History books for dueling spells.

I picked up the piece of parchment with my cursive scrawled on it and ran my eyes over the different spells and their subsequent directions and explanations. "We came up with a pretty good list last night."

Out of the corners of my eyes I saw Rose pick up her list and smile, "Yeah, we did." I could practically hear the excitement in her voice. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one who couldn't wait to try them out.

Tearing my eyes away from the parchment, I turned my full attention onto Rose. "That was a good idea on your part Weasley. I knew there had to be a reason I kept you around all this time." I had tried to stop myself after complimenting Rose on her ingenuity but I had been unable to keep the snarky words to myself.

Rolling her eyes, Rose set down her list and looked at me. Though she was trying to look annoyed I could see the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "Malfoy you wouldn't have lasted two seconds in this tournament without me."

"Is that what you tell yourself every night so you don't feel quite as useless?" Feigning a concerned look I began to gather up my textbooks.

"No but Emmanuel let on that, that's something along the lines of what you mutter about in your sleep." Rose tilted her head to the side and batted her lashes at me before she looked away and began to gather up her things.

Simultaneously, the two of us began to walk out of the Great Hall. "I do not mutter in my sleep." The mere thought of such a thing caused me to feel quite indignant.

"Well, you wouldn't know now would you? Considering you're asleep and all." Despite the fact that I knew Rose to be joking she had me with that comment. As we stepped out into the corridor I frowned, unable to come up with a witty retort. The two of us stopped and turned to face each other. "Let's meet for breakfast in an hour and a half. That way we will have plenty of time to go over these spells."

Despite the fact that I wanted to get in some extra sleep I nodded my head, agreeing with Rose's suggestion. Winning this tournament was far more important than another hour of sleep. "See you then Weasley."

"So long Malfoy."

With that, the two of us went our separate ways to get ready for what was sure to be a rather intense day.

_Rose_

At twenty minutes past seven I wandered back into the Great Hall with only my wand and the list of spells Scorpius and I had written up last night. As my eyes flitted over to the Slythindor table I noticed that Scorpius was already seated at the front of the table, food on his plate and list raised to his face. To be quite honest I was surprised that he was already down here, settled in and all. I had come down fifteen minutes early with the intention of beating him to the punch. Clearly he had, had the same idea and had managed to execute it better. Other than Scorpius the only people in the Great Hall where two Ravenclaws sitting silently across the room. Apparently everyone else was too exhausted from the day before to make an early start today.

"You're quite early," I remarked as I took my seat beside Scorpius.

Hearing my voice, Scorpius put down the list and turned to look at me. "Yes, well, not all of us need such a copious amount of time to make ourselves look presentable in the morning."

"Oh, is that why you look like a drowned rat at the moment?" As I spoke I widened my eyes and did my best to sound genuinely curious. In all honesty, Scorpius most certainly did not look like a drowned rat. He was, like always, quite handsome and stylishly disheveled. Granted he looked a bit more tired than usual but that hardly detracted from his appearance. However, where would the fun be in telling Scorpius that he looked good? He had plenty of Slytherin fan girls to fawn over him; my job on the other hand, was to poke holes in his inflated ego.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at me and glared, "At least there aren't red blotches all over my face. Though I do suppose they match the ginger color of your hair."

While I knew that my complexion was perfectly clear and even, I was tempted to turn around and see if I could catch a glimpse of my appearance in the windows directly behind me. However, I resisted the urge and without skipping a beat I replied to his insult, "With your complexion a bit of color could do you some good. You're starting to look like a vampire. Either that or an anti-social hermit. Take your pick." Pleased with my response, I cocked my head slightly to the right and flashed Scorpius a toothy smile.

Scorpius exhaled sharply through his nose, clearly annoyed that I had countered his remark. He opened his mouth to retort but before he could speak I held up my index finger cutting him off, "Stop right there Malfoy. You started it, I was merely finishing it."

Scorpius pressed his lips thinly together and narrowed his eyes, contemplating what I had just said. "Fine. But know this, I am only giving in because we need to go over these spells. At the moment, winning the tournament is more important to me than pointing out your abundant physical deformities."

A scoff escaped my lips and I shook my head, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. It was so very like Scorpius to have added that caveat in there. "I'll remember that." I muttered sarcastically.

"Good."

I looked up at Scorpius and the young man smirked at me, blinking in an exaggerated manner as if he was challenging me to loose my tempter. However, I merely took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. I wasn't angry because I was fairly certain that Scorpius hadn't made his comments with the intention of being cruel but rather, this was the manner in which spoke with each other. At this point it was entertaining.

"Are we going to start going over these spells or are you going to continue projecting your insecurities onto me?" I asked. Large groups of students had started to filter into the Great Hall, signaling that it was getting closer to the start of the second day of the tournament.

"Yeah sure. I was thinking we could start with this forward expulsion spell? Want to go stand by that wall over there and help me test it out?" Scorpius took out his wand and pointed towards the far end of the Great Hall, smirking cheekily at me. Clearly he thought that being hit by the heavy stones that made up the inner – most wall of the castle was an appropriate punishment for my last comment.

"I think I'm going to pass on that, thanks for the offer." The sarcasm in my voice was so thick the event the most sheltered first – year would have been able to pick up on it.

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders calmly; "I guess I'll just have to take it out on whatever team is unlucky enough to face us this morning."

I opened my mouth to speak when I spotted Lily, Albus, and Frank walk into the Great Hall and begin to walk towards where Scorpius and I were sitting. I silently prayed that Albus and Frank would keep their mouths shut and refrain from riling Scorpius up. It simply wasn't a good time for the usual antagonism. Glancing away quickly, I turned my attention back onto Scorpius and the list we had compiled. "Are you sure it's a good idea to use this spell during the octofinals? Shouldn't we save it for later? It's a crafty spell but once a team has seen it it's not all that difficult to figure out how to defend against it. If word gets out that we're using it the teams we face later on will come up with ways to protect themselves against it."

Scorpius frowned and was silent for a few moments, "You're right. Yeah, we'll save that one for later. Perhaps the semifinals?" He turned his head to look at me and arched a brow, waiting for me to either agree or disagree with his assessment.

As he did this Lily, Albus and Frank all sat down a few feet down the table from where Scorpius and I were seated. For now, I chose to ignore their presence. Instead, I nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. We'll save that one until the semifinals." That having been agreed to, I transfigured my spoon into a quill and scrawled 'semis' next to the spell at the very top of my list. To some it might have seemed as if Scorpius and I were being overconfident by simply assuming that we were going to make it to the semifinals but there was a feeling in the air between us that as long as we continued to cooperate we were unstoppable.

As I turned my attention onto the second spell on the list, I got the feeling that I was being watched. Despite the fact that I had a feeling as to who it was that was watching me, I looked up and was confirmed in my suspicion that Frank was glancing at me out of the corners of his eyes. Albus on the other hand was busy glowering at Scorpius. Both of them had, over the last month, made significant progress in their relationships with many of the other Slytherins. Scorpius however seemed to be an exception. Smiling lightly, I raised my hand and waived over at the three of them. Despite the fact that my wave was returned rather enthusiastically I knew very well that neither Albus nor Frank were particularly enthused with the current situation. Luckily Lily was doing her very best to capture their attention with an amusing story.

Within minutes, Scorpius and I had finished going through the rest of the spells on the list. The babbling charm was the only new spell that we were going to reveal during the octofinals. As the rounds became more competitive we would reveal more spells.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I picked up my head just in time for the clock to strike nine. An excited murmur swept through the Great Hall and the red curtain that had, until now, been covering the bracket board flew off to reveal the pairings. Just like the day before, the board was soon swarmed by dozens of eager students. Clearly annoyed by the situation, Scorpius groaned and rolled his eyes before turning his gaze onto my face, "Wait here, I'll go have a look." With that, he stood up and pushed his way through the crowd. To be honest, I was surprised by the kind gesture.

Less than five minutes later, Scorpius returned. "We're in the Defense classroom." He nodded over to the double doors that led out of the Great Hall to indicate that we best be on our way.

As we made our way towards the Defense classroom I took note of the fact that there were about half a dozen students trotting along behind us, speaking in excited, albeit hushed tones. Upon entering the room I was surprised to see that another half dozen students had already found spots from where to watch the duel. Turning my head to the right, I grinned at Scorpius, "Looks like you've got yourself an audience."

Scorpius chuckled, remembering his complaint pertaining to the location of our first duel. "In that case make sure you don't screw up Weasley, I've got a reputation to uphold."

Having no intention of letting him get away with that comment, I opened my mouth to reply when Professor Flitwick called the room to attention. The room fell silent and I wrinkled my nose in displeasure. Noticing the annoyed look on my face, Scorpius flashed me a brilliant smile and threw in a wink for good measure.

"Go ahead and bow to your opponents and then you may begin on my mark." Professor Flitwick's magnified voice announced. Scorpius and I took a few steps forward and bowed to our opponents. As we stood back up however, we caught each other's eyes and exchanged mischievous glances.

"One… two … three!"

The first person to send out a spell was Charles Davies, the Ravenclaw. The full-body bind was sent in my direction and I took a few steps back, quickly deflecting it.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a jet of red light head right towards Scorpius but he too easily deflected the spell. As soon as he had deflected the spell, Scorpius gave me a curt nod, signaling that this was the right time to try out the babbling charm. In order to keep Charles Davies preoccupied, I fired off a Stupefying Charm. Charles barely managed to deflect it so I quickly fired another one, leading him to take a few unsteady steps backwards.

While I was keeping Charles busy Scorpius quickly hit Richard Smith with the babbling charm. For a few seconds it was as if nothing had happened. However, the moment that Richard tried to fire off a jelly-leg jinx it was quite clear that the spell had worked. Instead of Richard uttering the proper incantation, a series of gurgles and indistinguishable mutterings were heard. As a result, Richard was unable to cast a single spell. As the Hufflepuff continued to gurgle and mutter angrily the students in the room who were observing the duel began to giggle in amusement. Charles turned his head to see what was wrong with his partner and I used that momentary lapse in judgment to my advantage, hitting him with a full body bind. The young Ravenclaw fell to the floor, officially out of commission. Charles was incapacitated and therefore could not help Richard undo the babbling charm and likewise, Richard was incapable of releasing Charles from his full – body bind. The babbling charm had worked just as Scorpius and I had hoped.

With a proud smirk on his face Scorpius easily disarmed Richard, and then with a victorious flair he quickly grabbed the Huffepuff's wand out of the air before it could hit the ground. Almost immediately the classroom burst into applause and I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. As Flitwick stepped forward to tend to Charles and Richard, I turned to face Scorpius to find that he too was wearing a wide grin. Instinctively, we both took a few steps towards each other. Once we had come within a foot of each other we paused and I could see the confused look on Scorpius' face. What did we do now? Feeling slightly out of place, I glanced around the room to avoid staring at Scorpius for too long. After a few awkward seconds had passed by, Scorpius held up his hand and with a small laugh, I happily gave him a much deserved high – five.

By now Flitwick had returned Richard's wand and had revived Charles. The two young men walked over to us and we shook their hands before they trudged out of the room in dismay.

"Well, let's just hope the rest of the day goes just as smoothly." Remarked Scorpius, echoing my thoughts.

As it just so happened, the quarterfinals went over just as smoothly as the octofinals had. The semifinals however, had been quite a challenge. The duel had lasted for over half an hour and my arms bore the scratches the prove it. Only after Scorpius and I had cast simultaneous forward expulsion charms had we been able to disarm our opponents.

Now that the duel was over however, I was elated. Scorpius and I had made it to the finals and rather than feeling nervous, I was extremely excited. A fifth year Gryffindor patted me on the shoulder before filing out of the room with the other observers. Once the room had emptied out, I turned to face Scorpius. My eyes were wide with excitement and I was so enthused that I could barely stand still.

"Almost there!" I exclaimed breathlessly.

"Breath Weasley. Don't pass out before the final round." Scorpius gave me a stern look as we began to walk out of the room and down to the Great Hall.

"Oh come on Malfoy, don't act so uptight. We made it to the finals! You can't tell me that you're not excited!" I was practically bouncing as we walked down the stairs. A large part of my excitement was due to the fact that I was confident that now no one could say that I all I had going for me were my book smarts. By making it to the finals I had thoroughly demonstrated that I could apply what I was so good at in the classroom setting to a more real – life situation.

"I'm _pleased_." Malfoy nodded his head, placing further emphasis on the word 'pleased'. "I'll be excited once we actually win the tournament."

As we reached the ground floor landing I shrugged my shoulders, "You're too hard on yourself Malfoy." My comment was off – handed and the words had slipped out of my mouth before I could even think of whether or not they would be appropriate. From the look on Scorpius' face however, I could tell that he did not take the words as lightly as I had spoken them. His brows were furrowed and he looked deep in thought, as if he were actually contemplating whether he was being too hard on himself.

Unfortunately, there was no time for the two of us to engage in such a deep discussion. By the time we entered the Great Hall the perimeter was already lined with students waiting to watch the duel. Our opponents, Nathaniel Corner of Ravenclaw and Justine Finch – Fletchley of Hufflepuff were already standing in the area where the Professor's table should have been. All of the tables had been pushed off to the side of the Great Hall, leaving a wide-open space for us to duel in.

Now that the moment had arrived, I could feel myself becoming nervous. Turning my head, I looked over at Scorpius. Yesterday, and even on the day of the Quidditch challenge, he had been able to calm my nerves and I was hoping he could work some of his charm once again.

Scorpius was already looking at me, almost as if he had been expecting me to look to him for strength. He smiled at me and nodded his head before whispering, "Come on Weasley, if we haven't hexed each other into oblivion yet there's no way those two dunderheads can."

Despite my nerves, a light laugh escaped my lips. Pleased with the result of his words, Malfoy winked. Though I was still anxious, I was surprised to find that the majority of my nerves had subsided. Once again Malfoy had been able to calm me down. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder how Malfoy could so easily reassure me when he constantly seemed to doubt his own success. That however, was something that would have to be contemplated at a later date.

The Headmistress stepped forward as Malfoy and I squared off against Nathaniel and Justine. Automatically, the four of us bowed.

"One… two… three!"

This time around, all four of us fired off spells at the same time. My wand locked with Nathaniel's while Scorpius and Justine were quickly shooting and deflecting various jinxes and hexes. Though I was interested in what was going on with Scorpius, I knew I had to focus on myself. Turning my gaze back onto Nathaniel, I gritted my teeth and concentrated. My spell won out over Nathaniel's and he was knocked backwards. Now that I had knocked Nathaniel off his feet, I was feeling far more confident. I took a few steps towards the Ravenclaw boy and cast a Stupefying charm. Though he was frazzled, Nathaniel managed to block my spell and he quickly fired off a bombardment charm into an area behind me. I heard the explosion and quickly threw myself to the ground to avoid being hit by falling pieces of wood. Once the coast seemed clear, I quickly glanced over my shoulder to notice that Nathaniel had managed to blow up the Professor's table. A rueful smile found its way onto my face and I couldn't help but imagine the look on Headmistress McGonagall's face.

My amusement however, was short – lived for a second later Nathaniel sent a confundus charm my way. "Blast." I muttered under my breath, scrambling to my feet so I could dodge the spell. By now my hair had come out of it's ponytail and my mop of red hair was bouncing wildly around my shoulders. Despite the fact that I was concentrating on deflecting Nathaniel's hexes, I heard the distinct sound of giggling from around the perimeter of the Great Hall. Confused, I glanced over towards Justine to notice that Scorpius had cast the babbling charm on her. A smirk was prominently displayed on Scorpius' face and in that instant I believed that Scorpius and I would be able to execute the same moves that had won us the octofinals. Unfortunately however, Justine merely gritted her teeth and cast the disarming charm through non – verbal magic. She was clearly far more magically advanced that Richard Smith.

Scorpius was caught off guard and his wand flew out of his hand, landing on the other side of the Great Hall. A look of terror crossed Scorpius' face, his grey eyes wide in shock and his lips pressed thinly together.

"Damn it." I muttered to myself, my mind working furiously in order to find a solution. Glancing up, I decided that the chandelier was going to have to be sacrificed so that Scorpius and I could win this tournament. "Waddiwasi!" The chandelier became unhinged and launched through the air, heading right towards Nathaniel. With wide eyes, Nathaniel jumped out of the way of the chandelier, falling onto his side. With Nathaniel temporarily out of the way, I turned my attention towards Justine and quickly deflected the stunning spell she had sent towards Scorpius. Having been given this brief moment of respite, Scorpius scrambled across the Great Hall. With his feet sliding out from under him, Scorpius dove to the ground and grabbed his wand triumphantly.

While I had been busy with Justine, Nathaniel had recovered. Back on his feet, the young man sent pieces of the broken Professor's table flying straight towards me. I however, was to busy making sure Scorpius retrieved his wand to notice. Luckily, Scorpius had his wand back in hand and from his spot on the floor, with his back against the wall, he sent the broken pieces of wood hurtling right back at Nathaniel. Quickly, Scorpius got back onto his feet and rushed to my side. With determined looks present on both of our faces, we looked at one another, nodded and then fired off simultaneous stunning spells.

For a few minutes the duel looked more like a dance. At first Scorpius and I fired off spells, moving forward and causing Nathaniel and Justine to step backwards. The tide soon turned and Nathaniel and Justine had the two of us backing up. Then, the roles reversed once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scorpius grit his teeth in frustration. Furrowing his brows, he sent a particularly strong hex towards Justine, knocking her off of her feet. Though Justine still had her wand in hand, she was frazzled for a moment and Scorpius quickly turned his wand towards the wall behind Nathaniel. Scorpius caught my eye and I knew exactly what he was about to do. Scorpius quickly cast a forward expulsion charm and a small portion of the wall exploded, sending a few stones hurtling forward. In order to protect myself, I brought up a shield. Nathaniel on the other hand, was caught off guard and he was hit by a few stones before dropping to the ground to avoid being hit by any more.

With Nathaniel in such frenzy, I knew that this was my best change to disarm him.

"Expelliarmus!"

To my relief, Nathaniel's wand flew into the air and landed a few feet away from me. The young Ravenclaw was already scrambling towards the wand and I threw myself onto the floor, extending my arm and quickly snatching the wand before Nathaniel could get to it.

"Yes!" I exclaimed triumphantly, standing up and tucking Nathaniel's wand into my back pocket. Now that Nathaniel was out of the duel, I turned my attention onto Justine. Due to the fact that Scorpius had turned away from Justine to cast the expulsion charm the Hufflepuff had managed to back him into a corner.

"Descendo!" I yelled with my wand pointed to the stone floor beneath Justine's feet. The stone's slowly started to sink and Justine was caught off balance. She stumbled backwards and Scorpius used that moment to disarm her. Justine's wand flew into Scorpius' hand and he clutched it triumphantly.

For a second, the Great Hall was dead silent. Then, the entire Slythindor team erupted into wild cheers. Even the Ravenpuffs were clapping out of respect. Stunned that the duel was finally over, I looked around in shock. A huge smile broke out onto my face and I quickly took Nathaniel's wand out of my back pocket and tossed it to him. As a group of Gryffindor's began to head towards me, I turned away from them and looked over at Scorpius who was returning Justine's wand.

Scorpius turned his head to look at me, a huge smile lighting up his handsome face. His blonde hair was in disarray and I could only imagine what I looked like. Ignoring the calls from my housemates, I bounced over towards Scorpius. He too had started to walk towards me and we met in the middle of the Great Hall. The two of us paused and we looked at each other, much like we had after winning the octofinal round. This time however, there was no awkwardness in the air. Scorpius held up his hand, waiting for our routine high – five to be completed. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a look that seemed to say _'are you serious'_? Without another moments hesitation I threw my arms around him, enveloping him into a hug.

For a moment, Scorpius was stiff, betraying how stunned he was by my actions. A few whispers were heard in the crowd and for a second, I doubted my actions. A moment later however, I felt Scorpius' body relax and he wrapped his arms around my torso, returning the hug. Much to my surprise, it didn't feel awkward or wrong to hug Scorpius Malfoy. In fact, it was quite comfortable and warm. I sighed contently and rested my chin on his shoulder for a brief moment before we both pulled out of the hug.

My grin was spread out from ear to ear, "Now are you finally excited?" I questioned, referring to our earlier exchange.

Scorpius chuckled and nodded his head, "Most certainly."

Though I wanted to discuss the victory with Scorpius, it seemed as if we couldn't ward off our housemates any longer. Scorpius winked at me and mouthed 'catch you later' before turning towards the Slytherins that were swarming around him. With a light laugh, I nodded my head and allowed Albus to pounce on me. The victory that Scorpius and I had secured was a result of not only our knowledge of spells and our dueling experience, but above all it was a result of how well we had worked together as a real team. Together we really were invincible.


	18. a falling out

**A/N: Here is the next chapter in the saga that is the Rose/Scorpius love story! A huge thank you to those of you who reviewed. Your reviews really put a smile on my face and give me extra motivation to write. Also, thanks goes to everyone who added this story to their favorites and alert lists! Thanks for reading guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own.**

Even before I opened my eyes I had the distinct feeling of a headache coming on. A groan left my lips and I raised a hand to rub my forehead. Despite the fact that I wanted to go back to sleep I opened my eyes and glanced around the room. After taking in the site of the messy dormitory for a few seconds it hit me that this was not my bed and it most certainly was not my dormitory. Drawing in a sharp breath I sat up and frantically turned my head from left to right as I tried to figure out where exactly I had landed myself. As I spotted the familiar Chudley Cannons poster on the opposite wall I realized that I was in Frank's dormitory. Luckily, the rest of the boys who occupied the room had already left and I was alone.

"What the bloody hell am I doing here?" I muttered to myself, running a hand through my messy, knotted hair. As I muttered to myself, I noticed just how dry my mouth was. Putting a few fingers to my lips, I noticed that they too were dry and cracked. Frowning, I tried to think back to last night in the hopes that I could figure out exactly how I had winded up in the seventh year boys dormitory.

"_Here Rosie, have a drink!" Albus exclaimed, grinning broadly as he shoved a bottle of firewhiskey into my hand. In a drunken, gallant fashion, he threw his left arm around my shoulders and took a swing out of the butterbeer mug he was holding in his right hand. As Albus' grip was too loose the mug tilted to the side and butterbeer spilled freely down the front of his shirt. When Albus didn't notice the incident I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing at the state he was currently in._

_A sheepish grin tugged at the corners of my lips and I shook my head, holding up my hand in refusal, "No thanks Al." I had already indulged in a number of butterbeers and I wanted to make sure I could function properly tomorrow. I had essays to attend to after all._

_Albus rolled his eyes and sighed in an exaggerated fashion, "Lighten up Rosie. You just won the dueling tournament! You were absolutely brilliant! Reward yourself!" Albus grinned and pushed the bottle towards me. As he shoved the bottle under my nose Albus raised his brows, "Come on, you know you want to."_

_Rolling my eyes, I gave in and took the bottle in my right hand. Bringing it up to my lips, I took a swig and felt the liquid run down my throat, warming my insides. A flush crept up across my cheeks as a visible representation of what was going on inside my body._

"_That a girl!" Albus exclaimed, clapping me on the back. With a goofy, lop-sided smirk he ruffled my hair before he wandered off to go harass another poor, defenseless soul. With a frown I patted down my hair, hoping that Albus hadn't messed it up too badly. Absent-mindedly, I took another sip of firewhiskey and took a few steps forward. As I walked, I noticed that I was beginning to feel rather light-headed and giddy. Another laugh escaped me as I found my way over to where Emily and Lily were sitting, chatting and looking rather pleased with themselves._

"_Hey guys," I greeted, squeezing myself in – between the two of them. "What are you two going on about?" Another sip of firewhiskey accompanied the end of my sentence. I had never been much of drinker in the sense that I didn't partake in such debauchery very often, yet once I started to feel the effects of the alcohol I became convinced that I had the tolerance of a giantess._

_Emily and Lily exchanged glances before they turned their eyes on me. "Oh nothing really…" Lily's voice trailed off, a smirk on her lips as she glanced off to the side._

"_We were just discussing the fact that you and Scorpius Malfoy appear to be pretty good friends now." Emily finished Lily's thought, a triumphant tone in her voice. She looked at Lily and the two of them giggled. Clearly they too had, had too much to drink._

_Arching a brow, I tilted my head from side to side for a few seconds; "I suppose we are friends now. I wouldn't go so far as to imply that we're good friends, but friends sounds about right." As the words spilled out of my mouth I realized that it actually felt right to call Scorpius my friend. After all, in the last two months and a half we had spent a lot of time together and I had gotten to know his mannerisms almost as well as I knew Lily's or Hugo's mannerisms._

"_Not good friends?" Lily questioned, a shocked tone in her face. She raised her brows and looked at me with wide eyes, "But you two had that cute little moment after the duel."_

_Throwing my head back I let out very audible, exaggerated groan. "It was not a moment you two. We hugged. I didn't realize that, that now qualified as a moment." I should have known that people would make a big deal about what had transpired between Scorpius and myself. While I didn't think of it as news worthy, it must have come as a shock to everyone else and the student body was always willing to gossip about anything that they found odd._

"_It wouldn't have been a moment between any other two people but you're Rose Weasley and he's Scorpius Malfoy! You two have hated each other for years and it just sort of blew everyone away to see you two hugging." For effect, Emily widened her eyes and nodded. There was a wicked grin on her face and had I been in the right state of mind I would have been quite worried. As it were, I was too drunk to care._

"_Yeah, everyone's talking about it." Lily tilted her head to the left and blinked at me for a few seconds._

"_I highly doubt that." The tone in my voice was indignant and I wrinkled my nose at the thought. Surely there were better things to gossip about. _

"_It's true." Frank's voice broke through the chatter of the crowd and I turned my head to find him standing directly in front of me. There was a mug of butterbeer in his left hand but it was almost completely full. From the look of things he had, had very little to drink this evening._

"_That's just silly." I countered very simply. This was absolute nonsense and I was not about to pay it any mind. Frank glanced off to the side and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. He had clearly been listening to the mutterings circulating around the common room. I wasn't entirely sure what came over me but I stood up and took a few steps towards Frank. "What's bothering you?" I asked, linking arms with him and leading him off to the other side of the common room. Now that I was thoroughly drunk I felt the desire to be close to someone, to feel someone else's skin against mine._

_Frank shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose I just didn't like you being all cozy with Malfoy, that's all. Made me a bit jealous I suppose." Frank glanced down at his shoes before he picked his head up again, clearly embarrassed. _

_Pursing my lips, I gave Frank a stern look. "Merlin's beard Frank! Jealous of Malfoy? That's preposterous." Yes, Malfoy and I were now friends but I couldn't imagine why such a thing would make Frank jealous. The two of us were, after all, together. Well, at least nominally. For the time being._

_Frank shrugged his shoulders; "I guess you just do that to me Rosie." Before I knew it, Frank's lips were on mine and he was kissing me. For a second I froze. There was a tiny voice in the back of my head that was screaming at me, reminding me that I did not like Frank in this way and that it would be wrong to continue leading him on. However, a moment later the alcohol muffled the voice and I put a hand on the nape of Frank's neck, deepening the kiss._

"Merlin's beard." I muttered to myself as I recalled last night's events. With my heart in my throat I threw back the covers and breathed a huge sigh of relief upon seeing that I was still dressed in last nights clothes. My relief however, was short lived. Even if things hadn't gone very far between Frank and I the fact still remained that I had taken stringing him along to a whole new level last night. Groaning, I fell back against the pillows, allowing a string of profanities to spill forth from my lips. I was now thoroughly convinced that I had to end it with Frank before the holidays. If I ended it in the next two weeks then he would have the holidays to get over me and I would eliminate the possibility of ever repeating last night's events.

"I see you're finally awake." Frank's voice broke through the silence and I sat up to see him standing in the doorway, a lopsided grin on his face. He was wearing a crisp, clean pair of jeans and a well – ironed shirt. There were beads of water in his hair, indicating that he had recently stepped out of the shower.

I opened my mouth to speak but found that my voice was failing me. Frowning, I cleared my throat and nodded my head. "Yeah, just woke up." Now that I was speaking at full volume I noticed that my voice was hoarse and scratchy. "How did I um…" I paused, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly, "wind up here?" In the back of my mind I hoped that the answer wouldn't be too humiliating.

Frank merely smiled from ear to ear and took a few steps towards me, holding up a bottle of water. "I tried to find some hangover potion but it appears that the rest of the house got their hands on the stash before I could." Frank took a seat on the edge of the bed and held out the bottle of water for me. "Don't worry about last night. You were just too drunk to walk yourself up to the girls dormitory so I brought you up here."

Satisfied with Frank's answer I let out a breath I hadn't been aware that I had been holding. While being too drunk to walk up a flight of stairs was thoroughly embarrassing I was happy that at the very least I hadn't asked Frank to let me sleep in his bed. With a grateful smile I took the bottle from him and drank greedily. By the time I was satisfied I had finished three – quarters of the bottle. As I removed the bottle from my lips I nodded, "Thanks."

"Of course." Frank's answer was simple but I could hear the tenderness in his voice. Inwardly, I kicked myself. At the present moment I wanted to hex myself into oblivion. Frank very clearly cared about me and I had been playing with his feelings all this time simply because I was too chicken to end things. Now I was even more determined to end things as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

I forced myself to smile at Frank for a few seconds before I sighed and stood up, "I'm going to go take a shower and try and wake myself up." Even as I spoke I was trying to think of the gentlest way possible to let Frank down.

Apparently, Frank noticed the distance in my voice for he stood up and walked to my side, placing a hand on my arm. "Are you alright Rosie? Do you want me to walk you to the foot of the stairs?"

Turning my head to the right, I shook my head slowly. With a small smile on my face I took a step forward, away from Frank, "I'm fine, don't worry about it." With that I walked out of Frank's dorm and slowly made my way to the seventh year girls dormitory. My throbbing headache was only made worse by the overwhelming guilt I felt in the pit of my stomach.

When I stepped into the Great Hall an hour and a half later I was stunned to see that everything had been put back in it's place. Even the giant chandelier I had hurled at Nathaniel last night was back up on the ceiling, perfectly intact. The Great Hall had been so badly damaged last night that it was quite a shock to see it restored to it's full glory so quickly. With a bemused smile on my face, I wandered over to the Slythindor table and sat down, spreading out my books and pieces of parchment.

There were only three other people in the Great Hall – two Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff sitting on the other side of the room. The three girls had their heads huddled together; clearly they were discussing something far more interesting than the Potions essay I was about to get started on.

With a small sigh I pulled my Potions book towards me and opened it to the chapter on Veritaserum. As the use of the powerful truth potion was heavily regulated by the Ministry the entire class was required to write an extraordinarily lengthy, detailed and quite frankly, tedious essay on it before we would be allowed to brew it after the holiday's.

As I began to pen my essay I tuned out the whispers of the three girls across the room and focused all of my attention on the list of Ministry regulations we had to summarize. I became so focused on my work that while I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name, I did not fully register it. So, when I felt someone touch my shoulder I let out a shriek, dropped my quill and nearly spilled my ink well. As I grabbed the ink well my arm pushed the large potions textbook off of the table and it crashed onto the floor with a reverberating noise. Embarrassed by my reaction, I cringed. "Brilliant." I muttered sarcastically under my breath.

A muffled chuckle was heard from the person behind me, "Merlin Rosie, sorry about that."

Sighing, I turned around to look at Frank. I had avoided going to the library specifically because I did not want to run into him before I had planned out how I was going to let him down. "It's fine." I waved my hand as if to brush off the incident. The fact that Frank had shown up here, in the Great Hall, seemed like a sign that it was time to break up with Frank. "What are you doing here?" I asked with a frown as I began to gather up my things.

"I was on my way to the kitchens when I saw you sitting here." Frank made a move to sit down but he furrowed his brows upon seeing that I was packing up my things, "I thought I could sit with you for a bit if that's okay." His tone of voice was cautious.

I shook my head, "Let's take a walk." Though I was determined to end things with Frank I wasn't about to do it in front of three other people. At the very least I owed him some semblance of privacy. Without waiting for Frank's reply, I gathered up my books in my arms and stood up.

Frank smiled and nodded his head before he leapt out of his seat, "Yeah, sounds like fun." Inwardly, I groaned. He clearly thought we were about to spend some quality time together. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if there was someone in the castle I could convince to use the cruciatus curse on me. I was pretty sure that at this point I deserved it.

As we left the Great Hall, I forced a smile that barely lifted my cheeks. We walked along the ground floor in silence for a few seconds. As we neared the stairs that led down to the dungeons I decided that I just had to come out with it, "Frank. I need to tell you something." I choked out, stopping in my tracks.

My stop was so sudden that Frank was unable to stop walking until he had gone a few extra paces forward. When he did turn around, Frank looked extremely confused. His brows were furrowed and the corners of his lips were downturned. "What is it Rosie?" As he stepped closer, I could see a glint of fear in his eyes. Seeing that look in his eyes made my mouth go dry.

Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes, telling myself that not only did I have to do this, but that it was the right thing to do.

"Rosie?" Frank's voice broke through my thoughts and when I opened my eyes I could see him peering at me in a curious fashion.

"Frank, I really care about you. But, not in the way that you care about me." I lowered my chin and looked at Frank with wide eyes, hoping that he would understand exactly what I was getting at.

"Rose, I don't understand." Apparently not.

"Frank, I think of you as a friend. A really fantastic friend, but just a friend nonetheless." The words spilled out of my mouth and as soon as I was done speaking I bit down onto my lower lip. Silence fell over the corridor as realization swept over Frank's face. Another few seconds passed before Frank spoke and I shifted my stance from my right foot to my left in discomfort.

"Oh." The word reverberated around the corridor, causing my heart to pound against my chest. My hands were clammy and I tightened my hold on my books. "Then why did you go out with me Rosie?" Frank's voice was soft and the hurt he felt was written all over his face.

Even though I was the one doing the dumping I felt like crying. Knowing that I was the cause of the pain Frank felt made me feel unbearably guilty. As I opened my mouth I realized that my voice was caught in my throat. I cleared my throat in order to find my voice, "You were so hurt when that whole incident with Malfoy happened and then you asked me to Hogsmeade and I didn't know what to do…" I trailed off, glancing off to the side in order to avoid meeting Frank's eyes. Shamefully, I looked down at my shoes, concentrating on the speck of dust on the right shoe.

"So you felt sorry for me?" The soft tone was gone from Frank's voice and now he sounded angry with me. My eyes flitted over to his face and I noticed his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes.

"No, Frank, of course not!" My voice was pleading and I reached out to put a hand on his arm. "I just didn't want to hurt you."

Frank took a step back, refusing to be touched. "So you strung me along because you were too afraid to tell me the truth? I think the only person you didn't want to hurt in this situation was yourself." The bitter tone in Frank's voice made my heart clench. It hurt even more because there was more than a grain of truth to his words.

"Frank…" My voice was barely audible and I looked at him with large, pleading eyes, begging him to try and understand.

Frank merely shook his head, a disgusted look on his face, "Don't Rose. Just don't." With that he turned on his heel and stalked off.

I watched Frank until he disappeared from my sight. With a sigh, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I grumbled sarcastically, "Perfect". I felt as if there was a giant frog in my throat and I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself.

"That didn't seem as if it went according to plan." The silky voice broke through the silence that had befallen the corridor and I instantly knew whom it belonged to. Opening my eyes, I turned my head to the left to see Scorpius rounding the corner. While I was perturbed by the fact that Scorpius had bore witness to that whole scene I was oddly comforted by his presence. Therefore, I refrained from asking him how long he had been standing there. It really didn't matter.

"I didn't exactly have a plan." I mumbled, giving Scorpius a sad smile. My eyes threatened to shed pent up tears but I refused to cry in front of Scorpius. Just because the two of us were friends now did not mean that I wanted to show him any sign of weakness.

Scorpius remained silent for a few seconds. He nodded slowly and walked towards me, stopping only when he was leaning against the wall beside me. The two of us stood there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Scorpius spoke, "Don't worry about it too much Weasley, he'll get over it soon enough." Scorpius turned his head to look at me. There was a small, reassuring smile on his face, much like there had been the day of the Quidditch match and the day of the final duel.

"I hope so." My voice betrayed the guilt I was feeling at the moment. All this time I had known that stringing Frank along was wrong and I should have known that this was going to be the result. Now, not only had I lost my boyfriend but from the look of things I had also lost one of my best friends.

Once again, silence befell the two of us. After a few minutes it was Scorpius who once again spoke up first, "I see you've got your Potions book with you." He noted. He turned his body so that his shoulder was up against the wall and he crossed his arms over his chest, "I take it you've started on the Veritaserum essay then?" He arched a brow and cocked his head to the side as he awaited my answer.

Peeling my eyes off the ground, I looked at him and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I started it. Didn't get to far though."

Scorpius wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, I started it too but it's so tedious that I had to give up on it. I don't understand why we have to go into so much mind-numbing detail. If it's a N.E.W.T. class we should just be able to brew the damn thing."

Bobbling my head from left to right, I considered what he had just said. On the one hand I too felt as if the essay was far too tedious but on the other hand, I understood why we had to go through all of this extra work. "Well, Veritaserum is a really potent potion. I guess the Ministry just wants to make sure we're all well aware of the side effects and the consequences."

Scorpius groaned and rolled his eyes, "Well Weasley, since you seem to know exactly what the Ministry was thinking when they made this essay a N.E.W.T class requirement would you care to accompany me to the library? I could use your insufferable know – it – all attitude in picking out books for the essay." A smirk graced Scorpius's face and his steely eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"Malfoy did you just, in an albeit twisted fashion, ask me for my help?" I questioned, the sad tone in my voice being replaced by amusement.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures Weasley," Scorpius stepped away from the wall and looked at me with an expectant expression on his face. I wasn't sure whether the desperate situation he was referring to was the tedious essay or my extremely obvious guilt over my break – up with Frank. Needless to say, I was not about to ask. I did however appreciate the distraction he was offering me.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated manner before stepping away from the wall. "Fine, but only because when I beat your marks in Potions at the end of the year, I want to know that I gave you every possible advantage." A snide smirk accompanied my extremely narcissistic comment.

Scorpius groaned and as we made our way to the library the corridors were filled with the sounds of our bickering.


	19. the burrow

**A/N: ACKK, sorry guys, I really did mean to get this chapter out earlier but things got hectic this week. This is a pretty lengthy chapter and there are many different personalities so I didn't want to rush it and mess it up. I hope this chapter is worth the wait and that everyone enjoys it. On another note, I was SOO thrilled when I saw how many people reviewed the last chapter! It brought a huge smile to my face, so thank you all! And thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favorites list and to their alert list. As always, constructive criticism is welcome. ENJOY!**

"Hugo!" My voice carried out through the open door of my bedroom and into the hallway. When there was no reply I rolled my eyes and leaned back into my chair with a grumble. I had walked by Hugo's room less than ten minutes ago so I knew for a fact that he was in there, getting ready for tonight's festivities. He was just being an obnoxious little brother.

"Hugo Arthur Weasley!" I called out again, raising my voice significantly. As I waited for Hugo to give me some sign of life I impatiently drummed my fingers against my wooden mahogany writing desk. After a few seconds of silence I finally received a response.

"Yes, Rose Nymphadora Weasley, what do you want?" Hugo yelled from his room down the hall. There was a slightly exasperated tone in his voice but I brushed it off. I wouldn't have had to yell out his full name if he had simply answered me the first time around.

"Can I use your owl to send out some of my holiday letters? Percy wont be able to do all of them by the time we need to leave." As I yelled to Hugo I leaned back in my chair, standing it on its hind legs in the hopes that this position would help my voice project better. To make sure that I didn't tip too far back I clutched the edge of my desk with both hands, swinging my legs as I waited for Hugo to reply.

Hugo chuckled before he answered me, "Yeah, sure." Even after all these years Hugo still thought it funny that I had named my owl after our Uncle Percy.

"Thank You!" I lowered my chair back down onto all four legs and turned my head to look at the copper – colored owl perched by my desk. At the age of eleven I had thought that it would be cute to name the owl Percy. After all, he did resemble our Uncle. At first however, Uncle Percy had been less than pleased that I had named a pet after him. However, after he saw how I doted on the owl he warmed to the idea and saw it as a compliment. I chuckled at the memory and turned my attention back onto the holiday notes I was writing. During my third year I had started this tradition of writing all of my friends small notes on Christmas Eve and this year, thanks to a particularly engrossing novel, I had fallen a bit behind and thus needed Hugo's owl to ensure that each note was delivered before it was time to leave to spend the night at the burrow.

"Merlin's beard, well look at that, I can yell unnecessarily and disrupt the entire family as well!" My fathers voice carried up the stairs from the parlor and I couldn't help but burst into laughter at the mocking tone in his voice. From down the hall I heard Hugo chuckle.

"It's only because I'd rather not be in Hugo's presence unless it's absolutely necessary! Don't subject me to such horror!" I yelled back down to my father. Though he had just commented on the way in which Hugo and I communicated I knew he had done it as a joke and that the probability of him actually being annoyed with us was slim to none.

"Hey!" Came Hugo's indignant protest from down the hall.

There was a moment of silence and I could imagine my father doing his best to hold back his laughter, "I guess that's fair!" He called back after a few seconds. Even though he wasn't laughing I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"What?" Yelled Hugo. I could practically imagine the trademark Weasley flush creeping across his cheeks. "You should want to be in my presence! I'm the fun one!" His voice tampered off into a grumble.

Despite myself I giggled as I began to pen Emily Boot's note. I held my tongue, waiting to hear my father's response. However, neither his deep chuckle nor his boisterous voice were heard coming up the stairs.

"Ronald, don't encourage them!" Came my mother's exclamation. With a small sigh, I realized that our little game had been foiled. Though I couldn't hear exactly what my father was saying I could hear him grumbling in displeasure to my mother. A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I placed Emily's note into a crisp envelope. Despite the fact that my parents got into disagreements on an almost daily basis it was obvious to anyone and everyone that Ronald and Hermione Weasley were still madly in love. At a very young age I had come to the conclusion that I wanted the type of relationship that my parents had; a relationship that was filled with admiration, respect, and passion. That was not to mention the fact that even after all these years my father still treated my mother like a queen.

"We're almost done Percy, I promise." I said soothingly to my owl as I held out Emily's note for him to take. Percy blinked at me a few times and hooted before he took the letter in his beak. With a small smile, I touched his head before he flew out the open bay window behind me.

Pleased with the progress I was making I glanced down at my list and scratched out Emily's name. There was only one name left on the list and that was Frank Longbottom's. With a small sigh, I brushed a few wayward strands of hair out of my face and continued to stare at his name. Instinctively, my right hand reached for my quill but I paused right before touching it to the parchment. Would Frank even want to hear from me? For the two weeks between our break – up and the start of the holidays Frank had actively avoided me and the two of us hadn't exchanged more than grumbled 'hello's' in the common room.

"This is mental." I muttered to myself angrily before I put my quill to the parchment and began to scrawl out Frank's note. When I had first started writing these notes, Frank had been the very first recipient and I was not about to backtrack on four years of tradition and sixteen years of friendship. In my note I made no mention of our break – up and its aftermath, though I did allude to my hope that we could go back to being good friends. Upon signing my name I sighed and touched the parchment softly in an almost loving manner. Despite the fact that I didn't want to be overly optimistic I couldn't help but hope that when Frank got this note he would realize that I had never wanted to hurt him. Perhaps this would be the first step to the two of us mending our fractured friendship.

Biting down onto my lower lip, I folded the crisp piece of parchment and gently placed it into an envelope. "Hugo!" I called out before writing Frank's name on the front of the envelope.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" He called back, knowing exactly what it was that I needed. A few seconds later Hugo's owl Arrow flew into my room, landing on Percy's perch.

"Frank Longbottom Junior, please." I said with a smile as I held out the letter. Arrow took the letter in his beak and he was off. With an accomplished smile on my face I scratched out Frank's name and looked at my list triumphantly. I had managed to send out all of my letters with time to spare.

I stood up from my desk and stretched out my arms before wandering over to my bed. Quickly, I began to change out of my lounge clothes and into the green, strapless dress I had chosen for the evening. As I changed, the 'Slythindor' pin Frank had made before the Quidditch match caught my eye. After I zipped up my dress I wandered over to my trunk and picked up the pin, holding it up to my face with a smile. As I did so, my thoughts wandered to Scorpius. Before the holidays the two of us had spent a considerable amount of time together in the library, studying for exams. Few words had been exchanged during our study sessions but we had traded outlines and essay ideas. In the two weeks before the holidays Scorpius and I had really solidified our friendship. As I thought about Scorpius I wondered how his holiday vacation had progressed. Despite all of the time the two of us had spent together since the start of term I knew very little about his personal life. I wondered if he too was busy getting ready for a big family dinner.

At that thought, a deep frown etched itself across my face and I gently placed the 'Slythindor' pin onto my bed. If Scorpius and I were friends now, wouldn't it be appropriate to send him a holiday note? Nervously, I began to chew on my lower lip. Placing my right hand on my hip, I turned my head and stared at the unused parchment sitting on my desk. I was almost fully convinced that sending Scorpius a note was the right thing to do but there was a small voice in the back of my head that questioned whether he would react positively to the gesture.

Bobbling my head from side to side for a few seconds I stamped my foot and decided that I ought to suck it up and write him a note. As I made my way over to my desk, I heard my mother calling up the stairs, "I hope you two are almost ready! We need to leave in ten minutes!"

Wrinkling my nose, I glanced at myself in the mirror. While I was already dressed I still needed to fix my hair, put on some make – up and get out a pair of shoes. I was going to have to work a little faster.

"I thought you didn't want to encourage us yelling around the house!" I called out as I sat down at my desk and pulled a piece of parchment towards me. As the words left my lips, Hugo let out a boisterous laugh that was eerily similar to the way in which our father laughed.

"Oh Rosie, stop it and just finish getting ready!" Despite the fact that my mother was trying to sound stern I could hear her laughing as she walked away from the foot of the stairs.

Smiling, I shook my head at my mother's response before I began to write to Scorpius.

_Malfoy, _

As I stared down at the piece of parchment, I wrinkled my nose. Though in person I still referred to Scorpius by his last name it just didn't look right on paper. Sighing, I crumbled up the piece of parchment and tossed it into the wastebasket under my desk. Taking in a deep breath, I started to write once more. Besides, now that we were friends it was only right that I refer to him by his proper, given name. He had, after all, been 'Scorpius' in my mind for quite some time now.

_Scorpius,_

_I hope this note finds you well and in good holiday cheer! I know we'll be heading back to school soon but I hope that you will be able to relax and have some fun these last couple of days of break. I've picked up a number of new books since we left school and I think you'd enjoy reading a few them. One of my favorites is called 'Unraveling Ministry Mysteries' and it's the autobiography of a man who used to work in the Department of Mysteries. If you don't have time to pick it up before we get back to school you can borrow my copy. I'm not going to lie I've been trying to figure out what the next challenge is but I haven't come up with anything that sounds even remotely plausible. I know that if you were here you would make some smartass remark about how my lack of a plausible idea is due to my lack of intelligence, but trust me I've racked my brain, which is just as good as yours. I'll try to get it out of Molly tonight at dinner. Maybe you can interrogate Emmanuel if you get the chance. Have a Happy Christmas!_

_Best Regards,_

_Rose Weasley_

Having finished the note, I put down my quill and read through the note to check for any grammatical errors.

"Rose, Hugo, five minutes!"

"Coming mum!" I called back before quickly folding Scorpius' note and placing it in an envelope. As I waited for one of the owls to fly back into my room I trotted over to the mirror and brushed my hair, pinning it back into a half up-do. With my hair and make – up done, I strode across the room in search of the black heels I had pulled out of my trunk that morning. Before I could begin the search however, Percy flew back into the room and into his cage. Clearly my poor owl thought that it was time for him to get some well – deserved rest.

Sheepishly, I turned to my writing desk and picked up the envelope with Scorpius' name on it. As I walked over to Percy's cage, the owl tilted its head to the side and looked at me without blinking. "Do you think you have it in you to do one more?" I asked sweetly. Percy may have been an animal but he was intelligent and if I didn't speak to him in the right way he would not do what I asked of him. Percy hooted at me and ruffled his feathers in annoyance. I smiled at the owl in the hopes that he would give in and take the letter. Percy hooted once more before he flew out of his cage and grabbed the letter in his beak.

"Thank you!" I called after him as he flew out the window. A sigh of relief left my lips as I turned around in order to find my shoes. As I scanned the room with my eyes I heard a knock on my door and I turned my head to see Hugo standing outside of my room.

"Come on Rosie, you better get down there before mum pops a blood vessel. You know how she hates being late, even if we're only going to see family." Hugo chuckled and threw me a cheeky smile before he walked away and headed down the stairs.

With Hugo gone, I turned my attention back to finding my shoes. An idea struck me and I slowly got down on my knees and glanced under my bed. A look of triumph swept across my face as I spotted the black pumps.

"Rosie, come on!" My mother called from downstairs, her impatience clearly displayed in her tone of voice.

"Coming!" I picked my head up for a split second to respond before I looked back down under my bed. As I bit down onto my lip, I snatched my shoes and stood up quickly. As the blood rushed to my head I felt a bit dizzy and my vision was slightly fuzzy for a few seconds. To steady myself, I closed my eyes and placed my hand on my forehead for a moment. Once the feeling passed I opened my eyes and quickly slipped on my shoes. As I scurried towards the door I snatched my overnight bag off of my bed and ran down the stairs.

"Are you lot ready?" I questioned as I stepped into the parlor. "We're going to be late!" I smiled cheekily at my mother who merely shook her head while my father tried to suppress his laughter.

"Alright, that's enough." My mother lowered her chin and gave me a pointed look, indicating that I was not to make anymore of my trademark remarks until we made it to the burrow. "Hugo, you'll apparate with me. Rosie, you apparate after us and Ronald, you bring up the rear." My mother nodded her head, "Okay, everyone ready?"

My father and I nodded in affirmation and with that, my mother linked arms with Hugo and the two of them were off.

"Okay, let's go Rosie. Try not to splinch yourself." My father teased, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. I had never splinched myself whilst apparating but the thought of doing so was so frightening to me that my father got a real kick out of teasing me about the possibility.

I narrowed my eyes at my father and my jaw dropped slightly open in indignation. Rather than protesting however, I pressed my lips thinly together and shook my head, suppressing a grin. Without another moment's hesitation I pictured the front lawn of the burrow and turned on my heel. I felt my chest constricting but a second later the pressure on my body subsided and I opened my eyes to find that I was standing right in front of the misshaped house.

"Alright, now we only have to wait for your…" before my mother could finish her sentence, a loud _crack_ announced my fathers arrival. I turned to look at my father and I couldn't help but smile at the look on his face. His eyes shone happily and there was a broad, toothy smile on his face, stretching from ear to ear. His expression spoke to how incredibly comfortable and at peace he felt whenever he was at the burrow.

"Okay, let's go kids, we're already running late." My mother led the way forward towards the front door and I trotted along behind her. As soon as she opened the door, my ears were filled with the sounds of clattering plates and a dozen different happy, chattering voices.

"Hello!" My mother called out before she let the door slam shut behind us. "Oh, I do hope we're not the last ones here!" As the sound of my mothers voice traveled through the burrow Grandmother Molly stepped out from the kitchen, a smile on her shining, jovially plump face. While my grandmother was usually in good – spirits, she was only ever this happy when the entire family was gathered in one place.

"Hermione my dear, welcome! No, don't you worry, we're still waiting on Teddy and Victoire." She exclaimed before she came over to us. Grandmother Molly kissed my mother on the cheek before she turned her attention onto Hugo and I.

"Yeah, and knowing those two we're going to be waiting around until they're done learning how to make babies." The unmistakable, pompous voice of James Potter was heard as the young man in question strode out of the dining room, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his khaki pants and a cheeky smirk on his handsome face.

I was tempted to laugh at James' comment but with my grandmother standing directly in front of me, I thought better of it and bit my lip. With a scowl on her otherwise pleasant face, Grandmother Molly turned around and frowned at James, "James Sirius Potter! Hold your tongue! Those two aren't even married yet, they are doing no such thing!"

The reprimand had no effect on James but nevertheless he extended his apologies to our Grandmother as was expected of him. Satisfied with James' response, Grandmother Molly turned her attention back onto me and smiled as she put her hands on my face, "Rosie darling, look at how beautiful you've gotten! How's school? Still getting perfect marks, yes? You always did have your mother's brains! We are so very proud of you, you know that right? Oh, you're going to do so splendidly on your N.E.W.T.S, I can feel it already. Studying hard, yes?"

With my face in-between my grandmothers hands I was unable to form proper sentences and thus I resorted to merely nodding my head in agreement. Grandmother Molly nodded her head and smiled, "Good, good. You can go put your things upstairs. You'll take your Aunt Ginny's old room like usual. Lily and Molly have already put their things up there." Grandmother Molly smiled at me and kissed my forehead before she released my face and turned her attention on to Hugo. After taking a few steps forward, I glanced over my shoulder to see that Hugo was receiving similar treatment. I smirked to myself as Hugo shot me a helpless look before I headed over to the stairs.

James chuckled at the sight before him and walked over to me, taking my bag off my hands. "Have you run my Quidditch team into the ground yet Rosie?" He asked with a wink as we walked up the stairs to the second floor of the house.

With a roll of my eyes, I kept my gaze in front of me, not wanting to dignify that comment with so much as a glance in James' direction. "Oh yes, James. It's gone to the dogs under my watch." I widened my eyes for effect before we reached Aunt Ginny's old room. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you." With an airy tone in my voice, I pushed the door open and grabbed my bag out of James' hand. "I'm quite angry with you James Potter." With my back still to James, I threw my overnight bag onto the open bed under the window.

"Angry with me?" James asked in shock. As I turned around to face him, I saw that he had placed both of his hands over his heart and was giving me a wounded look.

"Yes, livid." I replied, carefully enunciating each syllable of the word 'livid'. I pushed past James and made my way out of the room in order to head back downstairs.

"But why are you angry with me Rosie? I'm supposed to be your favorite cousin!" James trotted after me, puckering out his lower lip in an attempt to look like a sad puppy.

The comment caused the corners of my lips to twitch into a smile but I resisted the urge and instead I quickly spun around on my heel at the top of the stairs, "Because you haven't sent me Quidditch tickets all term." As each word left my mouth I stabbed James in the chest with my index finger. At the very end of his seventh year James had been signed on as reserve seeker with Puddlemere United and had promised me tickets at least twice each term. While I wasn't actually angry with him for not living up to his promise, after all James Potter often promised things without knowing whether or not he would be able to deliver, I was not about to let him off the hook.

"That's true." James mumbled begrudgingly. I gave him a pointed look before turning and walking down the stairs with James following behind me. "But I can make it up to you!" He proclaimed triumphantly as we reached the first floor landing. The parlor was empty and the chaotic sound of the entire Weasley family speaking at once could be heard from the dining room, as the family got ready to sit down to Christmas Eve dinner.

"Oh really, and how is that?" I asked curiously, arching a brow as I turned my body to face James.

James smirked and his green eyes shone brightly, just like they did right before he was about to unveil some well thought out prank. "Just like this!" With that, he reached into the right hand pocket pants pocket and pulled out two large tickets. "For you Rosie." Smiling broadly, James held out the tickets, waiting for me to take them.

I quickly snatched the tickets out of James' hand and immediately realized that they were box passes for the rest of the Puddlemere United season. A squeal of sheer delight left my lips and I threw my arms around James' neck, squeezing him as hard as I possibly could. "You're officially my favorite cousin! Thank you!"

James chuckled and wrapped his arms around my torso, returning my hug, "Oh I better be!" With another laugh, James pulled away from me, "But don't let Albus hear you say that or he might throw a temper tantrum."

With a smile, I nodded my head "I'll keep that in mind." I glanced down at the tickets once more and allowed another small squeal of delight to pass across my lips.

Quite pleased with himself, James gallantly threw an arm around my shoulders and began to lead me towards the dining room. As we meandered through the parlor I leaned into him and whispered, "Though I hope this isn't all you got me for Christmas." I teased.

James laughed heartily, tilting his head back "Of course not! I wouldn't want to loose my status as your favorite cousin." James threw me a wink just as we entered the dining room.

"Who is whose favorite cousin?" Albus asked curiously from his usual seat at the table beside Uncle Harry. As James made his way around the table to sit next to Teddy, who had just arrived, I made my way over to sit next to Albus. The two of us glanced at each other and exchanged small, mischievous grins.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Albus questioned, a frown on his face as he glanced between the two of us. "It's never a good thing when you two look like you're conspiring."

"Don't be so nosy Albus. It's not an attractive feature." James chided with a click of his tongue as he took his seat. James' comment caused Albus to scowl and as I took my seat I bit down onto my lip to hold back my laughter.

"Alright everyone, let's eat!" Grandmother Molly exclaimed cheerfully as she emerged from the kitchen and placed a large turkey in the center of the table. A collective sound of admiration rose from the table as we all took the time to appreciate both the size and the garnish of the bird.

As soon as Grandmother Molly took her seat at the head of the table the family began to fill their plates with the various delectable dishes that had been placed on the table. For a few minutes no one spoke as they were all concentrating on the food in front of them. However, silence was not a valued Weasley family trait so the conversation soon picked up.

"So, who has some exciting news to share?" Grandfather Arthur questioned from the other side of the table. "This family is always full of surprises, so lets hear it!" The demand was followed by a smile as my grandfather leaned back into his chair and looked out at the scene in front of him. I could hardly imagine what he was feeling at the moment after having raised seven children in financial difficulty and now to see them all successful and with children of their own.

"Well!" James exclaimed, his voice cutting above the side conversations that had developed. For emphasis, he slapped his hand against the wooden table. "I have an announcement." James leaned back into his seat comfortably, a wicked smirk playing across his lips. Curiously, I glanced across the table at James and arched a brow. Seeing as how James had managed to keep his mouth shut about this announcement whilst we had been upstairs, it had to be something big.

"Get on with it James!" Lily exclaimed impatiently, frustrated by the suspense that her eldest brother was trying to build.

Neither Lily's remark nor the laughter that followed fazed James in the slightest. "I've officially been promoted from reserve seeker to starting seeker for Puddlemere United!" James' face glowed with pride as a smile stretched out across his face, from ear to ear.

A collective cheer went up around the table as we all leaned forward to congratulate James and give him our well wishes. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry turned to each other and exchanged smiles, their expressions betraying the immense amount of pride they felt at the moment. Teddy clapped James on the back, "Brilliant! That's positively brilliant James, good job!" As Teddy clapped James on the back once more, Uncle Harry leaned forward, "Very well done son." He said softly with a smile. Though Harry's voice was far softer than the others around him, James easily picked up on his father praise. James' expression brightened even more and he nodded his head, "Thanks dad," he replied as he sat up a bit taller. Though he was loath to admit it, James loved making his father proud.

"Bloody hell James, why didn't you tell me?" Albus questioned as he looked at his older brother across the table.

James smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't tell anyone until now. I wanted the whole family to be together before I unveiled the big news." Secretly, James valued family just as much as our grandmother did.

Despite the fact that I was immensely proud of and extraordinarily happy for James I could not let this prime opportunity to tease him pass me by, "In that case I think the fact that James managed to keep his mouth shut all this time is the bigger accomplishment." My comment was followed by a cheeky smirk. As those around me laughed James narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips thinly together to suppress the grin that was threatening to break out across his lips.

"Well alright Rosie, if you're so quick to criticize, what have you done this term?" James questioned, leaning forward as he arched a brow.

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, "Not much. Keeping Albus from trying to kill half of Slytherin house has been almost a full time job."

As the family chuckled, Albus picked his head up and glowered at me. "Hey!" Came his indignant protest. "That was only once, during the Quidditch challenge. You can't blame me for that!" To make it quite clear that he was talking to me, Albus pointed his fork at me.

I shook my head, "Right, let's just blame Molly." I retorted, glancing at the girl in question. For her defense, Molly merely held her hands up and gave me a sheepish smile.

"Actually, I want to hear about this." Teddy's deep voice piped up, drawing the attention away from Molly. "What was it like to actually have to play with the Slytherins?"

As I thought back to the beginning of September I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in dismay. Three months later I found it hard to believe just how awful Scorpius and I had been to each other. "Well, it was pretty awful in the beginning." I stated simply. There was no point in sugarcoating the truth. "For a while it really felt like we were still playing against each other but as the match date got closer people seemed more willing to work together. Of course, Scorpius had to manhandle some of the Slytherin players but in the end it all turned out quite well, considering we won." Instead of a throng of congratulatory remarks the family shot me curious glances. Most notably, the look on my fathers face made it look as if he was in pain at the moment.

"Rosie, since when are you and the Malfoy boy on a friendly, first – name basis?" My father questioned, furrowing his brows as he pushed his plate away. If my father was willing to put his meal aside then this was a very serious matter.

"Uh…" My voice trailed off and though I was trying to come up with an answer, my mind refused to work quickly enough. Technically, I hadn't directly referred to Scorpius by his given name until this afternoon but I figured that a technical argument was not what my father wanted to hear at the moment. I glanced around shiftily, trying to figure a way out.

"Rosie's been getting on with Malfoy pretty well for like two months now." Albus chimed in as he shoveled a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "They were partners for the dueling challenge and they won, so I'd say they're getting on pretty well. I don't understand it considering he's a right foul git." The words spilled out of Albus' mouth but he remained totally focused on the food in front of him, clearly oblivious to the effect his words were about to have.

The table went silent and you could almost hear the wind whipping as nearly everyone turned their heads to see what Ronald Weasley's reaction would be. Albus, confused by the sudden silence glanced at me out of the corners of his eyes, "Was it something I said?" He mumbled. Rather than responding to Albus' inquiry, I too turned to look at my father.

A red flush began to creep up my father's neck until it had overtaken his entire face. It was a well-known fact that Ronald Weasley still harbored a deep mistrust of the Malfoy family. "Rosie, I've always told you not to get too friendly…"

I groaned and rolled my eyes, cutting my father off, "with the Malfoy boy because grandfather would never forgive me if I married a pureblood. Yes, I know." I grumbled, quite exasperated. I rarely contradicted my father but I was not about to sit here and, at the age of seventeen, have my father tell me who I could and could not be friends with.

Before my father could get out another word, Grandmother Molly's exclamation filled the dining room, "Ronald!" She snapped, turning to look at my father. "How could you say such a thing? Of course your grandfather would forgive her if she married a pureblood. What a ridiculous thing to say." My grandmother glared at my father before she turned to me and smiled, "You can marry whomever you like dear." She reassured me. Grandmother Molly quickly turned to look at grandfather, "Right Arthur?" It wasn't actually a question.

From the other side of the table, my grandfather nodded enthusiastically, "But of course darling!" My grandfather smiled at me and nodded emphatically. I opened my mouth to protest but I was cut off.

"The point is that I don't trust the Malfoy's and I don't want Rosie associating with them." My father said gruffly, shaking his head.

"Ronald, you don't trust Draco Malfoy. Rosie is associating with his son, you need to make that distinction." My mother's reasonable, steady voice cut through all of the chaos and the posturing of the male members of my family.

My father frowned and he turned to look at his wife, his mouth open in protest. However, one stern look from my mother silenced him. My father closed his mouth and frowned before he looked at me and pointed his index finger, "Don't come home at the end of the year and tell me you want to marry the boy. I will not have my only daughter marrying into the Malfoy family."

I looked at my father in disbelief before I groaned and leaned back into my chair, throwing my head back. "When did I ever say that I – "

"Everyone, I'm dating Emmanuel Zabini!" Molly's raised voice cut through all of the side discussions that had sprung up concerning the Malfoy family. Instantly, the entire Weasley – Potter clan went silent. With my eyes wide open and my mouth slightly ajar, I turned my head and looked at Molly in disbelief. I blinked at her a few times as I watched the rest of the family slowly turn their heads to stare at her.

I threw my cousin a confused look as if to ask her why on earth she had thought that this would be a good time for her to break the news. Molly bit down onto her lower lip and shrugged her shoulders. Clearly she was already starting to regret her outburst. No doubt she had thought that she was doing me a favor by taking the heat off of me.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Uncle Percy finally processed the bomb his eldest daughter had just dropped on him. "What?" He roared, his eyes wide in disbelief. My eyes widened and from beside me I heard Albus drop his fork. No one in my generation had ever seen Uncle Percy this angry before.

Molly took a deep breath and sat up straight, "I said that I'm dating Emmanuel Zabini, the _head boy_." Molly's voice was calm and collected and she made sure to stress the fact that Emmanuel had been given the honor of being head boy, much like her own father during his seventh year.

The sound of stifled laughter caught my ear and I turned my head to see both my father and Uncle Harry trying to hide their amusement. My mother and Aunt Ginny both turned to their respective husbands and narrowed their eyes, causing the two men to instantly stop their sniggering.

"Molly, what on earth where you thinking when you decided that, that would be a good idea?" Uncle Percy questioned. "He's a Zabini for Merlins sake! Besides, when did I give you permission to date _anyone?_"

Though my father had stopped laughing, there was currently a look on his face that read 'better your daughter than mine'.

"But dad, that's entirely unfair!" Molly exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "Rose was dating Frank Longbottom for half the term!" As the words left Molly's lips I winched. I didn't blame my cousin for bringing up my relationship with Frank in her defense but I really wished that I informed her that I had never told my father about my pseudo – romantic relationship with Frank.

"What?" My father yelled, the red color returning to his face as he leaned forward in his chair. A groan left my lips as I threw my right hand over my eyes just as the entire table erupted. Dinners with the Weasley – Potter clan were not for the faint of heart.


	20. malfoy manor

**A/N: For those of you who missed Scorpius in the last chapter, he's back! This whole chapter is allllllll Scorpius so I hope you like it! Our favorite duo will be reunited at Hogwarts in the next chapter, just as a heads up. I know that I haven't replied to all of the reviews you guys left me for the last chapter and I'm REALLY SORRY! I just haven't had the time and the spare time I have had, I devoted to writing this chapter. Nevertheless, I really do appreciate all the reviews - SO SO MUCH. Thanks to everyone reading, you guys are the best. As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome and if you have any ideas for the story, feel free to let me know! Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: disclaimed!**

_Scorpius_**  
**

Despite the considerable distance between my room and the downstairs dining hall I could still hear the hustle and bustle of my mother preparing for tonight's dinner. The clattering of plates was loud and clear as the house elves busied themselves with setting the table as the cook went over the menu with my mother. Ever since my grandparents had moved out of the manor, dinner had become a relatively relaxed affair. However, seeing as how it was Christmas Eve and my grandparents were set to arrive within the hour, every formality had to be observed.

"Draco, get out of here! You'll simply get in my way!" My mother exclaimed sharply, ordering my father out of the dining room. A chuckle escaped me as I imagined my petite mother physically shoving my father out of the dining room. My father was not the sort of man who could be easily pushed around but with one look my mother could get him to do just about whatever she wanted.

Within a minute of my mother having banished my father from the dining room I could hear footsteps coming up the marble stairs. A moment later there was a sharp knock on my door. I slowly put down the book I was reading and sat up on my bed so I could see my father peering into the room.

"Mum kicked you out of the dining room?" I questioned, arching a brow despite the fact that I already knew the answer to that question.

With a small smile, my father nodded his head before he took a few steps into my room. "You know how she can get whenever your grandparents come over." Despite the slight criticism in my father's words the tone in his voice was warm and revealed the reverence he had for my mother. The admiration that my father held for my mother was, to me, absolutely extraordinary. Never had I ever met a girl who I held such admiration for. For a split second, I thought of Rose. With her book smarts and her witty repertoire I definitely had a degree of respect for the young Gryffindor woman. A moment later however, the thought disappeared from my mind.

"You mean how she gets whenever grandfather comes over?" Out of the corners of my eyes, I glanced at my father shiftily. It was quite ridiculous of him to put grandmother Narcissa in the same boat as grandfather. Seeing the look I was giving him, my father chuckled and begrudgingly nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes well, you better start getting ready. If you're not down there by the time your grandparents arrive you're going to give your poor mother a heart attack." My father chuckled lightly before he left my room and headed back down the stairs.

With a sigh, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Though my father was exaggerating my mother's potential response, the truth was that she would in fact get extremely worked up if I wasn't ready in time to greet my grandparents. For as long as I could remember my mother had always been cautious in her interactions with grandfather Lucius. It was as if she was afraid he disapproved of her. To be quite honest, the possibility did exist. After all, from the stories my father told it sounded as if my mothers' family had never been particularly concerned with blood status.

I dragged myself over my closet and pulled out a pair of black trousers, a recently pressed white shirt and a black dinner jacket. Formal attire actually fit my personality relatively well so I didn't mind dressing up for dinner, in fact I was very comfortable in formal attire, it was the fact that my grandfather _required _this attire that annoyed me. Part of me was tempted to ignore my grandfather's demand for formal attire and go downstairs in the jeans and sweater I was presently wearing. The only reason I suppressed my rebellious instinct was the dreadful reaction I knew my mother would have.

Having dressed myself, I turned towards the mirror and ran my hands over the inconsequential ripples in my dinner jacket. Satisfied with my appearance, I put on a pair of shiny black patent Oxford shoes. With the laces of my shoes neatly tied, I was ready to head downstairs and wait for my grandparents to arrive. I ran my hand through my hair once before leaving my room and slowly descending the spiral staircase into the parlor.

"Scorpius, darling is that you?" My mother questioned as she scurried out of the dining hall and into the parlor. As my mother's eyes landed on my face, she smiled brightly and waved me towards her. I approached my mother and with a grin she grabbed my hand, holding me at arms length so that she could inspect my appearance. After a few seconds my mother was satisfied and she nodded her head, a broad smile gracefully displayed across her face. "You look wonderful darling." She added softly, pulling me in and kissing the top of my head.

I smiled at my mother and nodded my head, "Thanks mum." With that, I offered my mother my right arm and led her into the dining room where my father was already standing off to the side, a few feet away from the fireplace. I came to a stop beside my father and stuffed my hands into my trouser pockets.

"So, where are they coming from this time?" I questioned, turning my head towards my father. For the last year my grandparents had busied themselves by traveling around the world. They would occasionally send postcards but they changed their location so often that it was nearly impossible for me to keep track of their whereabouts.

My father frowned and tilted his head back, a groan leaving his lips. "Perhaps Peru?" My father turned his head to look at my mother for assistance who, in turn, smirked at him. "Draco, their last postcard was from Sao Paulo, in Brazil." A small laugh escaped my mother's lips as she attempted to give my father a reprimanding look. Despite her attempt, the look on my mothers face looked more like amusement than anything else.

"Oops." My father shrugged his shoulders innocently. My mother began to laugh once more when green flames erupted in the fireplace. Immediately, the three of us went silent and a moment later, my grandparents stepped out of the fireplace.

After brushing herself off, my grandmother turned her head to look at me and immediately, a broad smile came over her face. "Scorpius darling, there you are!" She exclaimed as she trotted over to where I was standing, her heels clicking against the floor. She wrapped her arms around me and enveloped me into an airtight hug. I smiled and returned the affectionate action. Despite the disdain I felt towards my grandfather I had an immense amount of respect for my grandmother. The older woman currently holding me had changed immensely during the course of, and after, the Second War and from what my father had told me, she had lied to Lord Voldemort himself in order to ensure that her son was safe. My grandmother may have started off on the wrong side of the war but I was proud of her for putting her family above all of the blood purity madness. As my grandmother let go of me she titled her chin upwards so she could get a good look at me, "Look at how handsome you've gotten!" She exclaimed before kissing my right cheek. I nodded my head in thanks before watching my grandmother scurry over to greet my father.

As my grandmother left to fawn over my father and mother, my grandfather approached me. Time had not been as kind to my grandfather as it had been to my grandmother and I reckoned that it was due to the time he had spent in Azkaban. Despite the fact that he looked weary, my grandfather had maintained his aristocratic presence and he stood as tall as ever. "Scorpius, my boy." He said sternly, holding out his hand.

I nodded my head, "Sir", was my reply as I firmly shook his hand. Despite the great lengths I went to in order to be cordial and accommodating to my grandfather I was not very fond of the man. The manner in which he was viewed after the end of the Second War had left my grandfather extremely haughty and defensive. As such, as a defensive mechanism he clung to many of his old beliefs, most of which I found quite repulsive.

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, dinner seems to be ready." My mother announced, taking a few steps towards me, a small, almost uneasy smile on her face. My grandfather nodded his head and with my father at his side, proceeded into the dining room. My mother gravitated towards grandmother Narcissa and the two of them began to discuss the time my grandparents had spent in Sao Paulo.

As we sat down to dinner the conversation was dominated by the stories of my grandparents latest travels. On my end, I listened with rapt attention. I was genuinely interested in hearing about the different cultures and the magnificent sites my grandparents had experienced. After my graduation from Hogwarts I had every intention to travel the world before beginning a career in the ministry. My desire to travel the world went hand in hand with the great marks I got in school – I loved to learn and travel exposed you to a plethora of new experiences.

Upon reaching the end of the main course, the conversation turned away from my grandparent's travels and onto how I had spent the first term.

"Why don't you tell us about how the inter – house challenge is going?" My mother urged, looking up from her plate and flashing me a brilliant smile. "To be quite honest, when we received the letter from the Headmistress we were a little skeptical."

I couldn't help but chuckle at my mother's words. "Yes well, I was pretty skeptical about the whole thing myself when I was informed." A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips and I exchanged knowing glances with my father who was trying to suppress a smirk of his own at the moment. To say that I had been _skeptical _about the competition at the start of term was a massive understatement, but the other words at the forefront of my mind were too inappropriate to vocalize in front of my mother and grandmother.

As the plates were cleared away and slowly replaced by dessert plates, I tried to sift through the events of the last three months in an attempt to pick out the most interesting things to tell my family. "The first challenge was the Quidditch match and so Rose, Rose Weasley that is, and I were co – captains of the team." As I thought back to the early days of the Quidditch challenge I couldn't help but smile ruefully. At this point in time it was almost shocking to me to recall how hostile Rose and I had been to each other. We still constantly made fun of each other but it was all in good faith now.

"At first it was a huge disaster," I continued, "but as we got closer to the actual match things started to come together. One day, I came out to the pitch to see Rose just watching the rest of the team practice. At first, I thought she had started practice without me but it turns out that by the time she made it down to the pitch the team was already practicing. It was really remarkable considering the team had previously been trying to rip each other's throats out. Thankfully all of our work held out and we won the match. Once we stopped trying to kill each other it turned out that Rose and I actually worked rather well together so we partnered together for the dueling tournament."

Here, I paused to take a bite out of the piece of flourless chocolate cake that had been placed in front of me. As I savored my dessert I couldn't help but think back fondly on the time I had spent with Rose. Somewhere over the last three months the two of us had become good friends and much to my own surprise, I didn't regret it in the least.

As I looked up, I could see that a dark look had crossed my grandfather's face, my father looked confused, and both my mother and grandmother looked rather amused.

"Rose Weasley?" My father questioned, arching a brow, "Ronald and Hermione's daughter?" His forkful of cake was halted in mid – air out of shock. As I turned to look at my father I nodded my head, thankful that although my father looked stunned he did not seem to be angry in the least. My fathers surprise was perfectly understandable seeing as how I had occasionally vocalized my previous dislike for and intense rivalry with Rose to my parents.

"Are you friends with the Weasley girl now?" My grandfather questioned, his tone of voice dangerously low. As I turned my head to the left to look at my grandfather I took note of his posture. He was sitting upright in the tall wooden chair, his right arm on the table as he slowly drummed his long fingers against the lengthy, mahogany dining table. Rather than turning his head to look at me, my grandfather was glancing at me out of the corners of his eyes.

Clearing my throat I too straightened my posture, as if it would make my presence somewhat more forceful. "Yes." I answered simply. This was the first time I had ever vocally acknowledged my friendship with Rose and to do so in front of my grandfather was positively nerve-wracking. Despite my nerves, I kept my expression neutral and stoic. I was not about to have my grandfather tell me who I could or could not be friends with.

Upon hearing my answer, my grandfather wrinkled his nose in disdain. I knew very well that grandfather Lucius looked down upon the entire Weasley family. He saw the entire clan as loud, boisterous, stupid and lacking refinement. He especially looked down upon Rose's family due to the muggle origins of her mother, Hermione. "Scorpius, it is not in your best interest to associate with people so far below your class level."

Almost immediately a surge of protectiveness swept over me and I couldn't help but frown at my grandfather. "Grandfather, I think that, that is a very unfair assessment." The words left my lips slowly and deliberately. My tone of voice was cold as I was doing my very best to keep my temper under control. Quickly, I turned my head to look away from my grandfather. My grandmother was look at my grandfather sternly as if to tell him to drop the subject. My mother on the other hand was looking at my grandfather in an appalled manner while my father pretended to be busy examining his cake.

In an attempt to ignore my grandfather, I too looked down at my plate and busied myself with the rest of the cake. Having taken note of the fact that I was no longer paying him any mind, my grandfather pushed his chair back and turned his upper body to face me. "My boy, I happen to be far more familiar with the Weasley's than you are."

I took a deep breath and slowly put my fork down. I sat up once more and turned my head to look at my grandfather. "I am certain you are grandfather." Unlike much of the wizarding world, I was not the biggest fan of the Weasley – Potter clan. I did not take issue with my grandfather's disdain for the Weasley's, but rather I took issue with his disdain for Rose. I simply did not put Rose in the same category as her annoying brother Hugo or her obnoxious cousin James. "However, I happen to be far more familiar with Rose than you are." It took all of my willpower to contain the self – satisfied smirk that threatened to break out across my face as a result of having used my grandfather's words against him.

A deep frown soon became etched across my grandfather's face and he glowered at me. Just as he opened his mouth however, my grandmother intervened. "Lucius!" She exclaimed sternly, furrowing her brows. My grandfather's head snapped to the left in order to look at my grandmother sitting across the table. Upon seeing the look on my grandmother's face, grandfather Lucius cleared his throat and turned his body back towards the table, pulling in his chair.

"I think that's excellent Scorpius." My mother piped up. Despite myself, I couldn't help but look at her in surprise. Due to the fact that my mother was so nervous about grandfather Lucius disliking her I had never heard her contradict him. "Both of you are intelligent young people and I'm sure it'll be good for the two of you to bounce ideas off of each other as N.E.W.T.S approach." Upon hearing these words, I smiled at my mother gratefully, glad that she was doing what she could to counteract my grandfather's spiteful words.

Moments later, silence befell the table as the entire family finished their dessert. Once dinner was officially over the plates were cleared from the table and the lot of us stood up to head into the parlor.

"May I be excused for a moment?" I questioned from the door of the parlor. My father turned on his heel to look at me from the lavishly decorated, wood paneled room. Understanding that I wasn't keen on spending time with my grandfather at the moment, my father nodded sympathetically, "Yes you may."

I nodded thankfully before turning on my heel, bounding up the stairs and rushing into my room. Upon stepping into my room I let the door slam shut behind me, threw off my dinner jacket, tossed it onto my desk chair and breathed a sigh of relief. As I sat down on the edge of my bed, my attention was caught by an envelope sitting on top of my pillows. Arching a brow, I turned my head and eyed the envelope curiously. My name was written on the front of the envelope in what was clearly a woman's handwriting, and for a moment I was afraid that the letter was from Claudia. However, upon further examination of the handwriting I realized that the writing was too elegant and clean to be Claudia's doing. Curiously, I snatched the envelope off of my pillow and carefully opened the envelope.

Two sentences into the letter and I knew that it was from Rose. Smiling, I continued reading, a laugh escaping me as she preempted my possible jab at her intelligence. Once I finished, I gave the letter a second reading. It was during this second reading that I noticed that Rose had addressed me by my given name and not my surname. Granted this was a letter, but this was the first time she had addressed me as Scorpius and not as Malfoy. Nodding to myself, I came to the conclusion that it was about time that the two of us started addressing each other in a more familiar manner. With the letter clutched firmly in my right hand I stood up and walked over to my writing desk.

I sat down and placed Rose's letter gingerly off to the side. As I took out a quill and a blank piece of parchment I thought about how much I actually appreciated the fact that Rose had taken the time to write me such a personalized holiday letter. I had in fact received a few Christmas cards from a number of Slytherins but they were generic and didn't contain any personal banter. Glancing down at the letter I realized that I had been entirely correct in defending Rose to my grandfather. With a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips I began to pen my response.

_Rose,_

_I have, thus far, enjoyed the holiday break. I hope that you have as well. I probably won't get a chance to visit Diagon Alley in the next few days so if you could lend my your copy of 'Unraveling Ministry Mysteries' I would greatly appreciate it. I've always found books written by former ministry employees to be extremely fascinating. Of course, some of the stories of these former employees are certainly exaggerated but they provide an insight into the ministry that is not given by the official lectures and brochures. On the subject of reading material, I've been reading a really fascinating novel on Gellert Grindelwald. The author of the biography sifted through all of Grindelwald's letters and notes to himself and so it really provides an in depth look at the wizard. I'll lend you my copy once we return to school. _

_Now, onto the subject of the next challenge. I find it entirely unfair that you preempted my potential remark regarding your level of intelligence. If we were having this conversation in person you would not have been able to do so. Alas, I will simply wait until school starts up again to tease you mercilessly. Merlin knows you make it extremely easy for me to do so. I hope you managed to get some information out of Molly this evening. I'm fairly certain the Zabini's will be coming over tomorrow night so I will see if I can trick Emmanuel into divulging some information. _

_Warm wishes,_

_Scorpius Malfoy_

Having finished the letter, I quickly scanned the parchment to make sure that I hadn't committed any grievous spelling errors. Merlin knew that Rose would be quick to point them out and then I would never live it down. Satisfied with my response, I carefully folded the letter and placed it into an envelope. Picking up my quill once more, I slowly wrote Rose's name across the front of the envelope, making sure that I wrote her name out as nicely as possible. In one fluid motion, I stood up and crossed my room to where my black owl was sitting in its cage.

"Rose Weasley please," As I held out the letter my owl tilted it's head to the right and looked at me with its wide, yellow eyes, as if he were shocked by my request. A second later however, he hooted at me and took off with the letter in his beak. I stood by my window for a few moments before turning around. Suddenly, after having written to Rose, I found my mood much improved. With a small, yet genuine, grin on my face, I grabbed my dinner jacket and made my way back downstairs to rejoin my family.


	21. revelations

**A/N: Hello everyone! I know it took me a bit over a week to get this chapter up and I'm sorry but I'm leaving to go back to school soon so I had a number of things to take care of. Updates probably won't happen more than once a week but the tradeoff with that is that the chapters are relatively lengthy. I hope that's okay. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I tried to get back to a few of you this time! Also of course thank you to everyone reading, and adding the story to your various lists. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome and if you have any ideas for the story, I would be happy to hear them!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

"Oh, it's so wonderful to be back!" Lily exclaimed in a chipper tone of voice as the two of us stepped into the Gryffindor common room. Glancing at her out of the corners of my eyes I could see a broad, toothy smile on her face as she glanced around the common room, a look of admiration on her face.

I nodded in agreement and took a few steps further into the room to provide space for the students streaming in behind us. The castle elves had lit the fireplace and it was starting to roar to life. The air in the room was fresh, crisp and cool, as if the windows had been open for hours and someone had just recently shut them. Though I had thoroughly enjoyed the holiday it really did feel fantastic to be back at Hogwarts. Even more so because I knew that these were my last few months at the school I had grown to love.

"Getting nostalgic Rosie?" Lily asked as she took a few side – steps towards me. She was looking at me quite sympathetically, as she very well already knew the answer.

"A bit." A sad smile accompanied my reply. I was more than a bit nostalgic but this wasn't the time or the place to act sad and morose. After all, it was the first night back and there was plenty of fun to be had.

"Rose." Frank's deep, familiar voice spoke my name from behind me. Instantly, my eyes went wide and I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. Perhaps this evening wasn't going to be as much fun as I had anticipated.

Taking a deep breath, I spun around on my heel and came face to face with Frank. His expression was solemn but there appeared to be an apologetic look in his brown eyes. "Frank," I barely managed to choke out. On Christmas Eve I had written to Frank in the hopes that when we returned he would speak to me and yet now, I had to admit that I was afraid of what he was going to say.

"Can we uh…" Frank paused, scratching at the back of his neck nervously as he shifted his weight from foot to foot "you know, go somewhere and talk for a bit?"

Instinctively, I looked to Lily for some sort of reassurance. She may have been two years my junior but I could always count on her for good advice. Especially when my own judgment was clouded by emotion.

For a moment Lily was silent. Her green eyes quickly darted between Frank and I in an almost amused manner. The smirk threatening to break out across her lips vaguely resembled the one James flashed when he did something he found to be particularly clever. "I'm going to head up to my dorm. I'll see you later Rosie." Lily threw me a stern look before she slinked off towards the stairs. Evidently she thought I ought to go talk to Frank.

Once Lily was out of ear - shot, I turned my attention back onto Frank and nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Frank nodded and gave me a very small, very clearly forced, smile. With that, he turned on his heel and the two of us headed up to the seventh year boy's dormitory. As I followed Frank into his dormitory I was greeted by the sight of two other seventh year Gryffindor boys peering at me curiously.

"Guys…" Frank trailed off and cleared his throat as he arched a brow at the two boys. Getting the message, the boys scurried out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind them.

For what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes, Frank and I stood facing each other in complete and utter silence. I couldn't force myself to look at him so instead I kept my eyes focused on the Chudley Canons poster across the room. The silence was deafening and I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't even bring myself to stand still, so I began to rock back and forth on my heels. After another minute however, the silence became too much to bear. "Frank…" I started. However, I was quickly cut off.

"No Rosie, let me go first." Oh, so now he decided to pipe up.

As Frank sighed and sat down at his desk I begrudgingly pressed my lips together and refrained from any further commentary. Frank motioned for me to sit down on his bed and I obliged him.

After I sat down, Frank looked at me and cleared his throat; "I got your note on Christmas Eve." He smiled lightly at me and even though the smile was barely visible, this time it was genuine. "After how I treated you Rosie, it was really nice of you to write me."

Hearing this, I tilted my head to the right and smiled at Frank in a sympathetic manner. "Frank, no, your reaction was completely understandable." I knew that what I had done was wrong and I didn't want Frank to feel bad for reacting in a completely natural way, even if I did want him to be my best friend again.

Frank clasped his hands together and glanced down at the floor for a few seconds, "Maybe at first. But I shouldn't have ignored you for as long as I did. I was upset but you've been my best friend since we've been in diapers. I should have remembered that and not put our friendship in jeopardy." Frank finally raised his eyes to meet my own and his entire expression spoke to how sorry he was.

Without saying a word I stood up and crossed the room to where Frank was sitting. Bending my knees, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, "Our friendship was never in danger because of your reaction." My tone was soft and reassuring. Even if Frank had wound up ignoring me for two months instead of two weeks I would have still forgiven him just as easily.

Frank chuckled and stood up, turning his body towards me and enveloping me into a hug. As I returned the gesture I sighed happily, glad that things were getting back to normal between Frank and I. After a few seconds, Frank pulled back and put his hands on my forearms, "Friends again?"

A small laugh left my lips and I nodded my head enthusiastically, "Of course Frank."

With a smile on his face, Frank nodded his head, "Very good." Once the words had left his lips, Frank reached his hand up and ruffled my hair. Though my nose was wrinkled in displeasure, I let him get away with it for old times sake.

"I need to go unpack but I'll see you at dinner?" The words came out as more of a hopeful question than a statement. I had been sitting with Frank at dinner for the last six years and I wanted to keep up all of my routines for these last few months.

Frank smiled and nodded his head once, "You got it Rosie." He threw me a wink and I couldn't help but laugh as I opened the door and stepped out of his room. Now that Frank and I had made up I felt a hundred times lighter. There was a goofy grin prominently displayed across my face but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't suppress it.

Waltzing into my dormitory, I found Lily lying on my bed, waiting for me. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me my cousin sat up and eyed my expression. "You and Frank make up?" She questioned, arching a well – sculpted brow.

"Yes, we most certainly did." I proclaimed cheerily as I began to unpack my trunk.

"Good!" A sigh of relief left Lily's lips as she fell back onto my bed. "The awkward tension between the two of you was getting to be really exhausting for me."

Hearing this I shook my head and as I hung up a few of my clothes, I rolled my eyes. "Oh, _you_ were exhausted? I'm terribly sorry for putting _you _in such a situation." Sarcasm dripped off of every word and as I turned around I could see a grin twitching at the corners of Lily's lips.

"It's quite alright Rosie," she replied nonchalantly as she rolled onto her stomach so she could look at me, "Just don't do it again." Lily tilted her head to the left and threw me a cheeky grin.

I chuckled and shook my head at Lily for a second before turning my attention back onto my trunk. As I looked into my trunk I saw the letter Scorpius had written to me in response to my holiday note. I smiled lightly and without thinking, I picked it up out of the trunk. For some reason still unknown to me, I had kept the letter. It just didn't feel right to throw it away.

As I began to unfold the piece of parchment I failed to notice that Lily was inching closer and closer to the edge of the bed. That is, until she snatched the paper out of my hand and flitted across the room with it. "And what do we have here?" She questioned merrily as she opened the letter and began to read it.

"No Lils, stop. Give it here!" I exclaimed nervously as I took a few steps towards her. Lily, like the rest of the Hogwarts student body, was aware that Scorpius and I no longer loathed one another. Given the amount of time the two of us spent together one would have to be both blind and deaf not to realize that we could, at the very least, tolerate each other now. However, despite that fact, I didn't want anyone in my family knowing that Scorpius and I had written to one another over the holiday break. Those letters signified that the two of us were good friends and I wasn't sure if anyone in the Weasley – Potter clan would be comfortable with my having such a level of familiarity with Scorpius Malfoy.

Lily of course did not give me back the letter and she kept on reading it. Every time I tried to snatch it out of her hands she evaded my grasp and with a sigh I eventually gave up.

A few moments later I could tell that Lily had finished for her eyes had stopped moving across the page. However, she didn't look up at me immediately. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the bottom of the parchment, on what I could only assume was Scorpius' signature.

"Lils, come on…" I muttered impatiently as I frowned at her.

Hearing my voice, Lily looked up and arched a brow at me. "Since when do you and Scorpius Malfoy exchange letters?" She asked, an amused tone in her voice.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, frustrated that I had been caught. "Since Christmas Eve." I muttered, snatching the letter out of her hand and gently folding it once more. Without another word, I crossed the room and gingerly placed the letter back into my trunk. Not wanting to meet Lily's gaze, I busied myself with unpacking the rest of my trunk. As I put a few book on my desk I heard Lily sit back down onto my bed.

"Well, I think it's quite nice." She proclaimed. Upon hearing this, I was startled and furrowed my brows in confusion. Slowly, I turned on my heel to look at her. Lily was grinning at me in an almost triumphant manner.

"Nice?" I questioned incredulously, lowering my chin as I looked at Lily. "You think it's _nice_?" This was most certainly not the reaction I had expected to get.

Lily seemed to be unfazed by my astonishment and she merely nodded her head before rolling onto her back so she could stare at the ceiling. "Don't sound so shocked Rosie. Yes, I think it's _nice_. You and Scorpius are alike in a lot of ways and I assume he's not always such an insufferable git. Plus, I've noticed that ever since you two have been acting quite friendly he's been less likely to try and rile up Albus, which is always a good thing."

"Scorpius and I are not alike in a lot of ways!" I exclaimed indignantly as I placed my right hand on my hip and peered down at Lily. Though the words had left my mouth in a rather convincing manner, I knew that I was lying through my teeth. The truth was that Scorpius and I were alike in quite a number of ways.

On her end, Lily mere arched a brow and blinked at me in an exaggerated manner. "Do you want to try that again Rosie?" She questioned.

Frustrated by the fact that Lily was right I groaned, "You're not going to tell anyone else in the family are you? You know, that Scorpius and I wrote to each other over break?" I could only imagine the lobster red color that would come over both Albus and Hugo.

Upon hearing this Lily bolted up in my bed and shook her head rapidly from side to side. "Are you mad Rosie? Of course not! I already have my O.W.L.S to worry about, I do _not _want to have to worry about Albus, or any of the other boys, having a heart attack."

At Lily's words, I couldn't help but start to laugh. I could practically imagine steam coming out of my brother's ears if he were to hear about this. A second later, Lily began to laugh and soon the two of us were in a fit of giggles. Lily was the first to regain her composure and she took a deep breath before hopping off my bed, "Come on Rosie, let's get down to dinner." A small laugh escaped her and so she took another breath to steady herself.

Filling my lungs, I nodded my head in agreement and put down the shirt I was in the middle of folding. As I made my way towards the door I paused and glanced over my shoulder, my eyes landing on the 'Unraveling Ministry Mysteries' book that I had suggested Scorpius pick up. I bit down onto my lower lip as I considered whether or not I ought to bring it down to dinner. After all, he had said he would like to borrow it. With a sigh, I walked over to my desk and snatched the book off of my desk before heading towards the door.

"Seriously?" Lily questioned as we walked down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. "You're bringing a book down to dinner on our first night back?"

Quickly, I glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "It's not for me." I replied hastily as we stepped out onto the corridor. "It's for Scorpius." I added in a whisper.

"Oh, it's for _Scorpius_." Lily teased in a sing – song voice, giggles following her words. Seeing this response, I couldn't help but groan.

"Oh lighten up Rosie, I'm just teasing." Lily playfully slapped at my upper left arm as we made our way into the Great Hall. The Professors had decided to keep the two massive 'Ravenpuff' and 'Slythindor' tables as opposed to resorting back to the four traditional house tables. At the very head of the Slythindor table I spotted Frank having an animated conversation with Albus, Emily Boot and Frederick Finnigan. At this site, I smiled. Now that Frank and I had made up there would be no awkward feeling when I joined them.

"Hey guys," I greeted as Lily and I joined the others. A collective greeting was heard from our three dinner companions.

"What's with the book Rosie?" Albus questioned before shoving a forkful of garlic potato into his mouth.

"It's for a friend," I replied without skipping a beat. Quickly I began to fill my plate with food and not wanting anyone to question which friend exactly the book was for, I attempted to start another conversation, "So do you guys think we'll find out what the next challenge is tonight?"

Luckily, my fellow Gryffindors took the bait. "I sure hope so!" Frederick exclaimed. "I was trying to figure out what it could possibly be over break but I didn't come up with a single thing."

The rest of our dinner conversation was split up between brainstorming possible challenges, complaining about our impending N.E.W.T exams and exchanging tidbits of petty gossip. As dessert appeared on the table, the sound of Headmistress McGonagall clearing her throat filled the Great Hall. Slowly but surely, the various conversations started to die out as everyone turned their attention towards the headmistress.

After the conventional welcome speech, McGonagall turned her head to the left and looked at Molly and Emmanuel, who had made their way over to the elevated staff table. "I will now turn things over to your two heads, Miss Weasley and Mr. Zabini. I believe they have some rather exciting announcements to make." With that McGonagall took her seat and Molly and Emmanuel quickly made their way to the center of the staff podium.

As Molly and Emmanuel stood next to each other, I heard Albus begin to mutter angrily to himself. No doubt he was reiterating some of the things Uncle Percy had said to Molly after she had made her big announcement. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at Albus and kicked his shin under the table. I knew how happy Emmanuel made Molly and so I was not going to tolerate any of my cousins making Molly's life difficult. As my foot made contact with Albus' shin he grunted in pain and leaned forward. Before Albus could even utter a single complaint, I turned my attention back onto Molly and Emmanuel.

"Welcome back! I hope everyone is excited for the new term." Molly proclaimed cheerfully, smiling from ear to ear. "As Headmistress McGonagall said, Emmanuel and I have some exciting news. In fact, we have _two _rather stirring announcements." The moment Molly informed the student body that there would be two announcements the great hall erupted in a flurry of whispers. We had all been expecting them to simply announce the next challenge.

"Two announcements?" I whispered, furrowing my brows as I looked to Emily. "They're not going to announce the next two challenges at the same time, are they?" The tone in my voice was incredulous and Emily merely shrugged her shoulders, unable to offer me any alternate explanation.

"If you would all stop talking then you wouldn't have to speculate about what we're about to tell you. We would just tell you." Emmanuel piped up over the whispers of the crowd, an amused look on his face.

I couldn't help but chuckle as the Great Hall became silence once again. At this, Emmanuel nodded curtly, "Good. Our first is announcement is that, with the permission of the Headmistress, Molly and I have planned a House Unity ball to take place at the end of this month." Excited whispers rippled through the Great Hall and from beside me, Lily elbowed my side. Both Emmanuel and Molly remained silent in order to give the student body a few moments to digest the information.

"A ball!" She exclaimed, her green eyes going wide as she leaned forward to chat with Emily across the table, "How exciting!"

On my part, I couldn't decide whether I was excited or annoyed by the prospect. On the one hand, I was a fan of dressing up in fancy gowns and enjoying a night off from the usual, mundane routine. On the other hand however, I was not looking forward to the prospect of hunting for a date. Securing a good date was sure to be a trial and I didn't have the heart to put in the necessary effort. For a brief moment, I thought of going with Frank. However, I realized that after what we had just been through, it would be highly inappropriate. Inwardly, I began to curse the situation.

"Now, now, settle down. You're going to want to hear the rest of this!" Molly stood on her tiptoes, as if that action would help project her voice better. She was, however, right in her assumption that the student body was eager to hear more and so the Great Hall fell silent, allowing Emmanuel to continue. "For this event you _must _attend with a member of another house. It doesn't have to be with a member of the house your own is partnered with for the competition; it just has to be another house. So, Ravenclaws, you are not required to go with a Hufflepuff. You could go with a Gryffindor, or a Slytherin." As those words left his mouth, Emmanuel turned his head slightly to the right and gave Molly a small smirk. I could have sworn that out of the corners of my eyes I saw Albus pretend to gag.

Though for entirely different reasons, I too was displeased with what Emmanuel had just said. Now that I couldn't go with a fellow Gryffindor, whom on earth was I going to go with?

"The ball will take place on the night of January thirty – first and everyone better come with a date!" Molly exclaimed, making an effort to look stern, as if she was chiding the student body. A small laugh rippled through the Great Hall and Molly smiled, evidently pleased with the reaction. "Okay, on to our next announcement!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but let out a small groan. There was only so much 'excitement' I could handle in one evening.

"Emmanuel and I are ready to announce the next challenge! This challenge is different from the previous two, in that it is purely academic in nature." The look on Molly's face was quite self – satisfied and I couldn't help but conclude that it was because she thought her own house had the advantage this time. "The next challenge will be set up as a trivia contest of sorts. The mixed houses will select ten students from each year to participate. Those ten students will go up against ten students of the same year, from the other mixed house team."

Upon hearing this I concluded that yes, this challenge did in fact give the upper hand to the Ravenpuffs. Not only were the Ravenclaws naturally bright, but the work ethic of the Hufflepuff students would ensure a very broad base of students to select from. Instinctively, I turned my head in an effort to see if I could spot Scorpius. After searching for a few moments, I saw him sitting a few feet away from me with a group of seventh year Slytherins. His nose was wrinkled in displeasure and the concentrated look in his eyes told me that his thoughts closely mirrored my own. I was so focused on Scorpius' expression that I almost missed Molly's further explanation. Luckily, Lily poked my side, returning my attention to the front of the Great Hall.

"The challenge will take place during the first weekend in March so you all have about two months to prepare. Use that time wisely. That warning is especially relevant to those of you who will be competing in the seventh year groups as you all will have seven years of knowledge as your question pool. Good luck!" As those last two words left her lips, Molly smiled broadly and bounced on the balls of her feet before she and Emmanuel gracefully made their way off the platform.

As soon as the two heads had disappeared from the site, the hall erupted in chatter and students began to stand and wander out into the corridors. I too stood up and waited for Lily to rise. As I did so, I realized that I had completely forgotten to give Scorpius the book. I frowned and stood up on my tiptoes, craning my neck to see if I could spot him. Within seconds I managed to spot Scorpius' blonde head and I quickly turned to Lily, "I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs." Without waiting for a response, I began to weave my way through the crowd. For some reason I was positively determined to give Scorpius the book this evening. A part of me realized that it was because I wanted to speak to him, to throw a few remarks his way and to see that insufferable, albeit attractive, smirk grace his face. That part me however, was soon suppressed.

Within a minute I found myself directly behind Scorpius. I opened my mouth to call out his name but I hesitated. Sure, when we had written to each other we had used first names but I wasn't sure of whether or not that would be appropriate now. Instead, I reached out my hand and gently placed it on his shoulder.

Scorpius quickly glanced over his shoulder and upon seeing me he smiled lightly, "Rose!" He exclaimed in surprise. With great effort I resisted the urge to sigh in relief. So it was appropriate for us to use first names now.

"Hey," I replied, returning the smile. "I have that book I told you about." As if I needed to prove to him that I wasn't lying, I held out the book for his inspection. A look of amusement crossed Scorpius' face and his smile was quickly replaced by a smirk. He nodded his head before he grabbed my wrist and pulled me off to the side so we were no longer blocking the slowly streaming crowd of students trying to leave the Great Hall.

"You didn't have to bring it down tonight." Scorpius said, arching a brow. The look of amusement had not left his face.

Upon hearing those words, I began to feel quite silly. He was right – I could have waited until tomorrow to give him the book. Furthermore, there had been no need for me to rush after him in order to give it to him. "I just didn't want to forget, that's all." I replied coolly, shrugging my shoulders, "Saving you from your own ignorance isn't high on my priority list Scorpius, so it would have likely slip my mind." As the sound of his name left my lips I realized how stupid it had been of me to avoid calling him by his first name. Scorpius sounded so much better than 'Malfoy'. Once more, I held out the book for him to take.

A chuckle left Scorpius' lips and he slowly shook his head, as if to show his contempt. "The only ignorant person you have to worry about is your cousin Albus." He countered before taking the book in his right hand. "That having been said, thank you for bringing me the book. I look forward to reading it." Scorpius glanced down at the book and smiled lightly before looking up at me. "Here, I have something for you as well." With that, he held out the book on Gellert Grindelwald that until now I hadn't even noticed he had been holding.

A look of surprise washed over my face. I had not anticipated Scorpius bringing me the book this evening. "You didn't have to bring it down tonight," with a smile, I mimicked his earlier words.

Scorpius chuckled, "Yes well, it's a rather dense book so I figured that if I wanted it back by the end of term I would have to give it to you tonight." Upon hearing this jab at my reading abilities, I pursed my lips in displeasure. Scorpius however, did not give me a single second to retort. "I also wrote some notes in the margins when I was reading the book but I used some pretty big words in them so I doubt you'll be able to understand them. Perhaps I should lend you my dictionary as well?" Scorpius frowned and tilted his head to the side, a pensive look on his face as if he was seriously considering the proposition.

"Better lend me a thesaurus so I can recite to you all of the different synonyms for git," I retaliated, hitting him over the arm with the book.

Scorpius laughed and rubbed his arm despite the fact that I had barely touched him; "Don't send me to the hospital wing Rose! You're going to need me for this next challenge."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. A scoff left my lips, "Don't be such a pansy." I snapped before throwing him a smirk and walking away to find out whether or not Lily was still waiting for me.

_Scorpius_

It was only the second night back at Hogwarts but already I found myself seated in the library, deeply engrossed in an essay for Transfiguration. It was annoying to say the least, but entirely necessary considering how much work the Professors were piling on us. I almost pitied those students who were procrastinating studying for their N.E.W.T exams. Almost.

Upon finishing up the third paragraph in my essay I sighed and gingerly placed my quill down onto the desk, careful not to smudge any of the ink on my parchment. As I looked up I stretched out my hand, which had started to feel cramped. Now that I was looking up I noticed Rose weaving her way through the book stacks. Seeing as how the young Gryffindor woman practically lived in the library, this was not an unusual site. It also wasn't an unusual site to see her heading in my direction. For the two weeks preceding the winter holidays, the two of us had started to study together. It only made sense that we help each other study for the N.E.W.T. exams, considering that we were constantly vying for the top spot in our year and we could both learn a lot from the each other.

"Hello Scorpius," Rose greeted with a small smile as she sat down across the table from me and began to spread out her books. Pressing my lips together, I nodded my head in recognition of her greeting as I did my best to refrain from smiling at the way my name sounded coming out of her mouth. It was nice to finally be on a first name basis with Rose. It had only taken us six and a half years.

As I watched Rose spread out her books, I took note of the fact that my book on Gellert Grindelwald was among those she had been carrying. "So I see you took my advice and started early?" I asked, clearly amused.

Rose's eyes flitted up and she pursed her lips, as if daring me to make a snide remark pertaining to her intelligence. "Yes, I started it last night." She replied coolly.

"How far did you get? Page two?" I teased, letting a chuckle escape me as I leaned back into my seat and sat with my hands folded over my torso.

Rose merely narrowed her eyes at me and refused to dignify my retort was a snappy response. "I did notice one thing as I was reading though." She mused. She did not however continue, as if she was trying to goad me into pressing her for more information. After a few seconds I relented with a dramatic sigh, "And what is that?" I questioned, feigning disinterest.

"That you have the absolute worst handwriting I have ever seen." Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Calling it chicken scratch would be far too kind." Now that insult was out Rose smiled smugly and batted her lashes, as if it would make her appear innocent.

Almost immediately, I began to glower at her, "I was in a rush when I wrote those side notes," I countered, sitting up right once again, "I hate to break it to you but the minds of fairly competent people work faster than the ability to write. Sorry I couldn't take the time to loop my letters to your liking." A sneer accompanied the end of my sentence.

"Well, those of us who are more than fairly competent can hold a thought for more than two seconds." Rose retorted, without skipping a beat.

"And how would you know that?" I said smugly, arching a brow at Rose as the signature Malfoy smirk spread across my face.

Rose narrowed her eyes at me and pressed her lips thinly together, shaking her head. She may not have been pleased with my response but I was happy to take my victories where I could get them. Despite myself, I chuckled before returning to my work. These witty exchanges with Rose kept my evening study hours entertaining and, though I would have to be tortured to admit it out loud, I didn't know what I would have done without them.

The two of us worked in silence for an hour and as I finally finished my essay, I put my quill down and sighed triumphantly. Glad to have gotten that over with, I stretched out my arms and watched as Rose picked up her head.

"Finished?" She questioned, peering at me over her stack of textbooks. A mere nod was my only response. "Want me to proof read it later?" She offered. Once again, I nodded.

A second later, Rose also put down her quill, "So how do you think we should go about handling this new challenge?" She questioned, shoving her books off to the side for the time being.

There was no doubt in my mind that over the last term Rose and I had emerged as the leaders of the Slythindor team and, seeing as how no one else had put forth any ideas, it was clearly up to the two of us to organize something. "Well, I think we'll have to get the other prefects in on this." I begrudgingly admitted. My dismay was written all over my face. The more people included in planning an affair like this, the higher the likelihood of discord. Frankly, I simply did not want to expend any energy disciplining an out of line prefect.

Rose considered my words for a moment before she nodded her head in agreement, "True. They're likelier to know the students in their years than we are. Though, that still leaves the question of how we're going to pick the students for the lower year teams. We don't have prefects to rely on for fourth year and below."

"Hmm…" I thought about the situation for a few moments. "You don't suppose the Professors will release first term grades to us?" I questioned, a slightly hopeful tone in my voice.

"Fat chance of that happening." Rose couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

Nodding my head, I sighed. "We could always just ask for volunteers."

Rose considered my proposal for a few moments, scrunching up her nose in concentration. "I suppose, but we'd have to do a bit of screening first. You know, make sure we're not putting complete dunderheads on the team."

Upon hearing Rose's suggestion I couldn't help but groan in agony at the mere thought. Despite the fact that I was partially traumatized by the idea, I had to admit that I couldn't come up with a better screening process. "Oh, that'll be loads of fun." I grumbled.

"I bet." Rose replied in a similar tone of voice.

"Now since when does your family have enough money to just throw around betting Rose?" I teased lightly. As soon as the words left my mouth however, I realized that the joke was in poor taste. It was the sort of remark I would have made at the start of first term, back when I still disliked Rose, not now. I knew very well that while Rose's grandparents had, had to live extremely modestly, her parents both held high ministry positions and were doing quite well. The look on Rose's face told me that she was not amused. Her left brow was arched, her jaw was clenched and she was pursing her lips.

Unsure of myself, I glanced around awkwardly before dropping my gaze down onto my completed essay. From across the table, I heard Rose sigh in a frustrated manner before she picked up her quill and began working once more. Clearly just because we were friends now it did not mean that we were immune from truly irritating each other.


	22. dates

**A/N: So, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the previous one, but this update is tons quicker! I'm on the road heading to school now and I managed to write this out so I thought I'd update. I would have made this chapter longer but in my head, when thinking about where I wanted to go with the next few chapters, I realized it didn't fit. So yeah... Thank you to everyone reading, and adding this story to their lists. A specially HUGE thank you to those of you who reviewed. I really love getting reviews. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: disclaimed**

The other prefects weren't set to arrive for another half hour, but nevertheless I had been sitting in the library for the past hour working on a problem set for Ancient Runes. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder whether or not I had piled too much on to my plate this year. Taking Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic, and Ancient Runes had seemed like a good idea at the time I had signed up for classes but now, with the inter – house competition and N.E.W.T.S looming over my head, I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Taking a deep breath, I put down my quill and tried to put my thoughts in order. After a few seconds of shuffling through all of the thoughts swimming around in my mind I came to the conclusion that as long as I maintained a strict study schedule, I would be fine.

Just as I was about to turn my attention back onto the problem set, I noticed a figure walking into this relatively deserted part of the library. Curiosity getting the best of me, I looked up to see Nathaniel Corner heading right my way. Nathaniel was a seventh year Ravenclaw and he had made up one – half of the team that Scorpius and I had defeated during the final round of the dueling tournament. "Hello Nathaniel." I greeted with a small smile as I leaned back into my seat.

Nathaniel smiled at me, showing off his set of pearly whites. "Hey Rose." He replied before he casually planted himself in the seat directly across the table from me. "What are you up to?" He questioned, glancing down at the papers I had spread out across the table.

A small laugh escaped me as I took in the obscenely large piles of papers and textbooks, "Just some ancient runes problems."

Nathaniel arched a brow and lowered his green eyes onto my problem set. As he looked at my work he wrinkled his nose and looked up at me, "Good luck with that. Better you than me." He mumbled.

Chuckling, I shrugged my shoulders. "If I didn't have so many other things to attend to I wouldn't be so annoyed by this problem set." After the words left my mouth, I found myself curious as to why Nathaniel was in this part of the library. I had chosen this table specifically because it was next to all of the advanced History of Magic textbooks and very few people rarely ventured back here. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing back here?" I asked, arching a brow. "If I remember correctly, you dropped History of Magic so fast during our fifth year that it gave me whiplash."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Nathaniel's lips as he exhaled. "You're right, I'm not here to read about the giant revolution." He admitted, running a hand through his floppy, and quite shiny, chestnut colored hair.

Upon hearing this I shifted in my seat and crossed my right leg over my left. "Then why are you here?" I questioned, resting my chin in my hand as I impatiently awaited his answer.

Nathaniel smirked and leaned forward in his seat, resting his forearms on the table. "I'm here because I want to ask you a question." From the tone in his voice, it was clear that the question he wanted to ask me was not academic in nature.

Deciding to go along with the little game we were playing, I raised my upper body and tilted my head to the side, "A question for me?" As I asked the question my tone of voice went up an octave in an attempt to feign innocence. "What is it? Are you unsure of how to properly transfigure a potted plant into a dove, because I most certainly can help you with that." I was doing my very best not to smile but I could feel a small smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.

Hearing my words, Nathaniel chuckled and shook his head, "No that's not why I'm here. Though we can talk about that later." Almost immediately, Nathaniel's face took on a slightly more serious expression, "I'm here because I was wondering whether or not you already had a date to the house unity ball."

To say that I was shocked by Nathaniel's words would be an understatement. Despite the subtle flirting we had been engaging in for the last couple of minutes I hadn't anticipated Nathaniel bringing up the house unity ball. Despite myself, I could feel a bit of color creeping up onto my cheeks. "No, I don't have a date yet." I replied honestly, glancing off to the side for a few seconds before I looked back up at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel gave me a lop – sided grin, "Well then, would you like to go with me?" He questioned, his green eyes growing slightly wider. "I would be quite honored to have you as my date."

Despite the fact that I didn't know Nathaniel too well, I couldn't help but feel flattered by his words. I could feel my ego being stroked and my heart rate speed up. Not wanting to feel, or sound, like an over enthused schoolgirl, I inhaled sharply through my nose. Seeing the hopeful look on Nathaniel's face I considered his proposal. Nathaniel was a very good looking young man and from the classes I had, had with him I could tell that he was also very bright. Plus, the last few minutes had shown that the two of us could carry a conversation quite well and that was important in case the ball turned out to be a dud.

"Well, when you put it that way…" I trailed off for a moment, allowing a sweet smile to come over my face, "I would love to go with you."

Both of Nathaniel's eyebrows instantly shot up, surprise etched across his face. Clearly, he had been expecting me to say no. "Well, that's fantastic!" Nathaniel's posture instantly straightened up, as he remained glued to his seat.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "Why are you so surprised?" I questioned, genuinely confused. Granted, Nathaniel and I had never been particularly close but he was a smart, attractive, and entertaining young man. I couldn't imagine why he would think that I would turn him down.

A look of slight embarrassment crossed Nathaniel's face and he pressed his lips thinly together. His eyes were firmly placed on the desk in front of him, and not on my face. Wanting an answer, I cleared my throat to indicate that I was not about to allow him off the hook.

Hearing this, Nathaniel chuckled and raised his eyes to look at me, "I just figured that you were going to go with Scorpius Malfoy, that's all."

As those words reached my ears, I froze in astonishment. For a few moments I blinked at Nathaniel without making a single noise. Then, as my senses returned I couldn't help but exclaim, "What?"

The young man in front of me laughed nervously, "I just mean, you two are always together and you've partnered together for everything else during this tournament so I just figured…" Nathaniel trailed off and looked at me with a sheepish expression on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

A half – hearted chuckle escaped my lips and I waved my right hand lightly as if to dismiss the ridiculous idea. "Scorpius and I may be friends but the two of us spending the entire night together in formal attire sounds like a recipe for disaster." As I spoke, in the back of my mind, I considered what it would be like were I to actually go to the ball with Scorpius. Despite the fact that I had made it sound like a preposterous idea, I couldn't come up with a single reason as to why it would actually be ridiculous. In fact, I had to admit that I would probably have a good deal of fun with Scorpius. However, the suggestion that Scorpius and I go to a formal dance, as _dates_ seemed like it _should _be ridiculous.

Upon hearing this, a look of relief washed over Nathaniel's face and he nodded his head, "Good to hear." With that, he nodded his head once more and slowly stood, "Well, I've interrupted your studying for long enough. I'll see you later Rose."

I nodded in reply, "See you later Nathaniel." With that, I watched as Nathaniel turned around and walked towards the more populated area of the library. As I watched Nathaniel's retreating form, I saw Scorpius heading in my direction. The two young men looked at each other nodded in acknowledgment. However, as Scorpius passed Nathaniel, he turned around and frowned, giving the Ravenclaw a confused look. Seeing this, I couldn't get but snigger and shake my head.

As Scorpius approached the table, his brows were furrowed in the same confused expression he had given Nathaniel's retreating form. "What was Corner doing over here?" He questioned as he sat down. "He wasn't fishing for information on our challenge preparations, was he?"

As Scorpius began to pull out his books I gathered my papers and textbooks into two neat piles in order to give him some room. "No, he wasn't fishing for information." I replied with a small laugh. "He just had a personal question for me, that's all." I knew the fact that I was being elusive was going to nag at Scorpius, but I felt no need to just offer up more information. Besides, I wanted to see him squirm a little.

"I see…" Scorpius' voice trailed off and I could tell he was waiting for me to continue. When he noticed that I was choosing to remain silent, he let out a sigh and opened his textbook. After about a minute however, he mumbled in a frustrated manner and leaned back into his seat. "Alright, I'll admit I'm being nosy but what did he want?" He asked bluntly.

Arching a brow, I carefully picked my head up to look at Scorpius. I was trying to maintain a stoic expression but there was an amused smile tugging at the corners of my lips. Part of me was tempted to toy with Scorpius and ask him why on earth it was any of his business. However, because he had admitted he was nosy, I decided against it.

"He was here to ask me to the house unity ball." I answered simply.

Scorpius' expression remained neutral for a few seconds as his eyes searched my face for any indication that I was joking. When he found none, he started to laugh. His laugh was loud and boisterous, so much so that he was leaning back into his chair. "And what did you say?" He choked out when he had managed to suck in enough air.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what was so funny. I pursed my lips and frowned at Scorpius, "I told him that I would love to go with him."

Hearing this, Scorpius broke out into another fit of laughter. In his fit, he slapped his right hand against the wooden table, creating a resounding hollow sound. Had we been in any other part of the library the librarian would have come over and dragged us out by our ears.

"What's so funny Scorpius?" I hissed between clenched teeth. I had narrowed my eyes at the young Slytherin sitting across the table from me and I could feel myself growing more and more annoyed with him.

"I can't believe you're going to the ball with Nathaniel Corner." Scorpius snorted and shook his head. "He's just such a…" Scorpius trailed off, searching for the right word, "tool." Scorpius wrinkled his nose as an afterthought.

Scorpius' response led me to roll my eyes in annoyance, "In that case, I'll introduce you two at the ball. You two should get along famously." I retorted, smirking at him.

"Oh, very funny Rose." He snapped, crumbling up a piece of paper and throwing it at me. The paper ball hit me square in the nose and as the paper fell down onto the table, I clenched my jaw. Just as I was about to retaliate however, I noticed Lily, Adam and the rest of the Slythindor prefects heading our way.

"Consider yourself _very _lucky Scorpius." I pointed my right index finger at him and held back the smile threatening to break out across my face. For his part, Scorpius chuckled and quickly sneered at me before the other prefects arrived.

_Scorpius_

A long, drawn out groan escaped my lips. With a defeated expression on my face, I rested my head upon the Slythindor table and turned my neck so that the left side of my face was flat against the wood. Rose was sitting on my right and upon taking note of my actions, she looked down at me and arched a brow.

"And what exactly is your problem?" She asked me. From the tone in her voice I could tell that she was just barely holding back her laughter.

Rose's question, although said in jest, only added to my immense frustration. I took several deep breaths in order to reign in my temper, my nostrils flaring out as I did so. "My problem?" I asked slowly and deliberately. "My problem is that every single person we've talked to so far is a complete and utter fool." I hissed, finally picking my head up off the table. "I don't think any of the people we've talked to so far could pass a simple spelling test, let alone next years O.W.L.S."

Hearing my reply, Rose laughed lightly before she sighed, her signal that she agreed with my assessment. Dropping her gaze, she glanced over the list of fourth year students that had volunteered for the academic trivia challenge. In the last hour, the two of us had talked to fifteen students and I wasn't considering a single one of those dunderheads for the team.

"You didn't like Richard?" She asked, picking up her quill and underlining Richard Avery's name. Slowly, I turned my head and looked at Rose with a blank expression on my face as I blinked at in rapid succession. Getting the message, Rose nodded her head and looked back down at her paper, crossing out Richard's name.

"Rose, can we take a break please?" I whined, resting my head in my palms. I was expecting her to protest, to urge me on into seeing the rest of the students. However, Rose did no such thing. Instead, she placed her quill down on the table, shoved her list off to the side and rested her head on the table. Once more, I pressed the left side of my face against the table and watched as Rose did the same to the right side of her face so she could look at me.

After a few seconds of silence, which I used to collect my thoughts and quell my frustration, I finally spoke, "I think we let the other prefects off easy." I muttered, my voice somewhat muffled by the table. Last night, when Rose and I had met with the other prefects, the two of us had decided that the two of us would split up the fourth years with Frank and Adeline, the sixth year prefects would question the third years and the fifth year prefects were responsible for the second and first years.

Hearing this, Rose laughed, "Scorpius, the fifth year prefects have two years to interview."

Even before Rose had opened her mouth to speak, I had known that this would be her retort. I rolled my eyes and groaned, "True, but we have four years of material to go through. The other prefects have less mind-numbing material to review. Besides, I think this terms fourth years are far more obnoxious than any other year in recent Hogwarts history."

"That's not possible." Rose asserted, "Our year is by far the most obnoxious one this term. We have you in it."

Despite the fact that Rose's joke was made at my expense, I couldn't help but laugh. Rose soon joined in and the two of us found ourselves in a fit. While Rose's comment hadn't been absolutely hysterical, it had been funny enough to ignite all of the pent up, frustrated laughter our situation had built up.

After a few minutes, we managed to collect ourselves. Almost simultaneously, we picked our heads up off the table and patted down our roads.

"Have you asked anyone to the ball yet?" Rose asked cautiously as she pulled her list back towards her.

Frankly, I found myself shocked that Rose was asking the question. I didn't think that she would take any interest in whether or not I had a date. The truth was that I had in fact asked someone last night, after the prefect meeting. "Yeah, I did." Just like Rose had done last night, I wasn't about to make it easy for her to find out whom I was going with.

Rose, much to her credit, clearly knew what I was playing at. A long, exaggerated sigh passed through her lips as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Scorpius…" she mumbled, letting her voice trail off as she turned her head to look at me. "Find your own game to play."

With a laugh, I nodded my head in agreement. "Alright, alright. I asked Emmeline Reeves." Emmeline was a tall, fairly pretty, brunette Ravenclaw. I knew Emmeline through Adeline, the other seventh year Slytherin prefect.

Rose considered my answer for a few seconds before she nodded her head, seeming to approve of my choice. "She seems nice." I was expecting Rose to add more to her assessment of Emmeline, but when she did not, I found myself feeling disappointed. I really wanted to know what Rose thought about Emmeline, but I didn't want to ask. A moment later, Rose turned to me and smiled, "Shall we resume our interviews?" She asked, sounding as if she was about to laugh, considering she knew that I would rather make a trip up to the hospital wing.

"I suppose," came my grumbled reply as I rested my chin in my left hand. Rose sighed and called in the next student.


	23. loyalty

**A/N: I know, I know, I am the worst when it comes to updating. The problem is, I really don't seem to have time to do it while I'm at school. I was very close to just not updating anymore, since it had been so long but it seems people are still reading... so, I'll do my very best to keep updating. This one isn't terribly long, as it should have been after such a long wait, so I apologize. I have however, already started on the next chapter so hopefully that one will be up relatively soon. **

**I'm a bit rusty so I hope this chapter doesn't suck too badly. Disclaimer: Disclaimed. I do not own.**

Much to my dismay, even in my half – asleep state, I could very clearly feel someone poking at my side. Furrowing my brows together I muttered unintelligibly and rolled over so that my side was no longer exposed to the perpetrator. My actions caused the criminal in question to giggle girlishly however, my desire to continue sleeping overwhelmed any curiosity I had to open my eyes and see who had dared to disturb my Saturday morning sleep.

"Rosieeeeeee." A _very _familiar voice whined. A moment later, my mattress springs creaked as the other person jumped up onto my bed. Now there was no doubt in my mind who it was that was attempting to get me out of my warm, cozy bed.

"What is it Lily?" I mumbled with my back to her, my eyes still firmly shut.

"Rosie, come on, get up. It's already half past ten." Lily scooted closer to me and placed both of her hands on my left arm, shaking it violently.

"And?" I asked bluntly as I snatched my arm out of Lily's clutches. I was thoroughly confused as to why the time mattered. It was a Saturday and considering how exhausted I was it could have been half past three and I wouldn't have batted a lash.

Lily sighed in a frustrated manner before giving me another good shake, "You promised that we would go gown shopping today."

Upon hearing those words, I winced with my face in the pillow. I very clearly remembered promising Lily and Emily Boot that I would go gown shopping with them today in preparation for the house unity ball. "I don't recall such a conversation every having taken place." I lied, pulling the duvet cover over my head with a dramatic flourish. Though I had in fact made such a promise, I had only done so in the hope that the two of them would quit interrupting my studies.

"Rose Nymphadora Weasley!" Lily exclaimed indignantly as she slapped my lower back. The mattress soon felt lighter and I knew that Lily had finally gotten off of my bed. Groaning dramatically, I rolled over onto my other side and opened my eyes to see Lily peering down at me with her hands on her hips.

"Lily, I don't want to go! I'm tired." I knew very well that I was eventually going to give in but I wasn't about to make it easy for my petulant cousin.

Lily arched a brow and glowered at me for a few seconds, "Rosie, the ball is next weekend. If we don't go now, when are we going to go? We've already waited long enough! Most of the other girls already have their dresses."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I couldn't come up with a good retort. Wrinkling my nose, I realized that I was going to have to give in. So much for giving Lily a hard time. With a heavy sigh I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, "Fine, fine. You win." The words were bitter as I spoke them and I followed them with an incomprehensible grumble.

Seeing that she was, once again, going to get her way, Lily clapped. Her face instantly brightened and she skipped over to my trunk. "Here." She threw me a pair of dark skinny jeans and a dark purple, knitted sweater.

With a heavy and rather unnecessary sigh, I began to get dressed. "What sort of dress were you thinking of getting?" I asked. In the back of my mind I was trying to picture the type of gown that I would want to pick out. The bright red color of my hair often made it difficult to find nice dresses. Red dresses clashed with my hair, green gowns usually made me look like a Christmas tree and certain hues of pink made it appear as if I was suffering from a very unfortunate skin disease.

"Oh, I don't know." Lily mused as she sat on the edge of my bed, swinging her legs. "Maybe something purple." My cousin tilted her chin upwards so that she was staring at the ceiling.

Within a few minutes I had finished getting ready and Lily, upon seeing this, leapt off of my bed. "Finally." She grumbled dramatically.

"Oh hush up." I chided, swatting at Lily's left hand as she linked arms with me. "It's not like you have anything better to do today."

An indignant look crossed my cousin's face as she looked up at me, no doubt in order to protest my assertion. However, after a few suspenseful seconds, Lily merely wrinkled her nose at me and turned her head away. A small, triumphant laugh escaped my lips as I reveled in my victory. Clearly, I had been right.

"Don't be so smug Rosie, it's not a good look for you." Lily snapped as we made our way down into the Gryffindor common room.

"You're just upset that I was right." Came my reply in a sing – song tone of voice. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Lily scrunching up her nose in a disgruntled manner, but I pretended to be blind to her annoyance.

As we entered the common room we found Emily already sitting on the couch, awaiting our arrival. Upon seeing us, she bounced up out of her seat, smiling broadly. "Ready?" She questioned, her eyes widening in excitement.

"Yup, rearing to go." I replied with an undertone of sarcasm. While I enjoyed replenishing my wardrobe, it was hard for me to get excited about the act of shopping in advance. In addition, I was still a bit cranky over having been woken up. Fortunately for Lily and Emily I was sure that my mood would improve significantly once we made it into the stores.

As the three of us began to make our way through the castle the conversation flowed naturally, the topics ranging from the annoying Transfiguration essay that was due the day before the ball to the Gryffindor fourth year we were all certain was fooling around with a Ravenclaw seventh year.

"Well, Frank said he saw her by the Ravenclaw tower when he was out on his prefect duties the other day." Emily whispered, proud to be the one to present this new piece of evidence for analysis.

As we stepped out of the castle and into the open air I took in a deep breath, allowing the brisk air to wake me up. At the mention of Frank's name, I couldn't help but think that I hadn't spent much time with him lately. All of my time was currently being divvied up between my studies and preparing for the inter – house trivia challenge. Coincidentally, both of those activities had led me to spend a large portion of my waking hours with Scorpius, and almost none with Frank. Making Frank feel as if I was neglecting him was the last thing I wanted to do and so I made a mental note to make an effort to spend time with Frank.

"What do you think Rosie?" Lily questioned, nudging me in the side with her elbow. Clearly I hadn't been very subtle about the fact that I had been pulled into my own thoughts. Blinking rapidly, I turned my attention back onto the two girls as we finally entered the town of Hogsmeade.

"On what exactly do you desire my opinion?" I asked, slightly embarrassed that I had managed to completely tune out the conversation.

From my left Emily let out a small giggle, clearly amused by the fact that I had completely checked out. "About the state of our trivia team."

Upon hearing this query, I couldn't help but groan. "That bad?" Lily asked in shock as we strolled along, occasionally peering into the store windows, trying to find the best dress store we could.

"Well…" I let my voice trail off as I bobbed my head from side to side, trying to figure out how to best quell Lily's concerns. "It really depends on which year you look at. The sixth years are all far too relaxed for my taste, the fourth years are in that obnoxious, angst filled stage of their lives, and the first years might know the answers but they're too timid to speak up and utter the proper words." Out of the three aforementioned years, the fourth years were my least favorite. Not only did they have a lot of pent up feelings, but they weren't shy about releasing their negative emotions on the seventh year prefects. Just two days ago I had, had to convince Scorpius that hexing a mouthy fourth year would have been a very bad idea.

"Do you think we're going to loose this one?" Emily asked as the three of us stopped in front of Madame Desmond's Dress Shop.

"I'm not sure." I replied candidly, peering into the window. There were only two other girls in the entire store; Lily had been right – most everyone else had finished their ball shopping already. "It's going to be a tough one to prepare for. I'm going to be honest, we're just not as disciplined as the Ravenpuffs."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Lily grumbled. She quickly switched gears, "Let's go inside!" As Emily and I followed Lily into the store the younger Gryffindor girl sighed, "I guess you can't win them all."

"Well we're sure going to try." With that, the three of us wandered off in different directions in order to find the perfect dresses for next Saturday night. Wandering through the store, I brushed my hand against the dresses I passed, letting the soft material run through my fingers. I thought about the ball and how I was going with Nathaniel Corner. Nathaniel was smart and extremely attractive, so I was looking forward to spending the evening with him. However, I wasn't truly _excited_ over the prospect. There was no anticipation, none of the 'I can hardly wait for next weekend' feeling that I had heard all of the other girls talk about in reference to their dates. I sighed as I stopped in my tracks. Was there something wrong with me? Both Frank and Nathaniel were great guys and yet I hadn't fallen for either of them. Perhaps my standards were too high.

"Rosie!" Lily's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned my head to see her smiling broadly at me. "I found it!" She chirped.

"That's great Lils." I replied, not even bothering to glance at the dress she was holding for I was still too wrapped up in my thoughts. Maybe I was supposed to be single until I was thirty, just like my father hoped.

"No Rosie!" She snapped, taking a few steps towards me. "I found the perfect dress for _you._ This thing is far too long for me. You're the one with all the height." With that, she held her arm out, shoving the dress in my face.

This time my eyes flitted over the dress, taking it in. The dress was a sparkling champagne color that was reminiscent of early 20th century glamour. The dress had two thick shoulder straps, narrowing in at the waist before extending down to the floor in an a-line. I had to admit that it was a fantastic find. An excited smile came across my lips as I snatched the dress out of Lily's hands. "Let's go try it on!" I exclaimed with a grin, putting aside my thoughts of winding up a cat lady.

I entered the dressing room and began to change out of my clothes. "Lily, do you know who Frank is taking to the ball?" I called out, realizing that I was completely out of the loop when it came to Frank's personal life these days.

Instead of receiving my response from Lily, Emily's voice piped up from the dressing room to my right. The surprise of hearing Emily's voice caused me to jump slightly. "I think he's going with Adeline Crowley."

The actual news Emily provided surprised me far more than the sound of her voice. "What?" I exclaimed, poking my head out from behind the dressing room curtain. As I did so, Emily reciprocated and stuck her head out from her dressing room.

"That's why I heard." Emily raised both of her brows and shrugged her shoulders before disappearing back into her fitting room.

On my part, I couldn't believe the news and thus could not get back to changing into my dress. I turned by head to the left and looked at Lily who was sitting on the couch in front of the dressing rooms. Lily narrowed her eyes and waved her hand, "Get back in there." She chided.

Rolling my eyes I stepped back into the fitting room with a huff. "Adeline Crowley?" I repeated. "As in the seventh year female Slytherin prefect?"

"One in the same." Lily called out.

"I find that truly disgusting." I grumbled as I zipped up my dress.

"I mean, she's not the most pleasant human being in the world, but what do you care?" Lily questioned.

"What do I care?" I exclaimed incredulously as I pulled the dressing room curtain aside. "Frank is one of my very best friends! She's just not good enough for him."

Lily however, was clearly not paying attention to what I was saying. Rather, she was examining how I looked in the dress. "Rosie, it looks fantastic. I think that this is definitely the dress for you."

Exasperated with Lily's lack of concern, I rolled my eyes and turned on my heel in order to look at myself in the mirror. Upon spotting my reflection, I was pleasantly surprised. Rather than clashing with my hair, the champagne color complimented my complexion. The cinched middle highlighted my narrow waist and the a-line made me look taller than I already was. Lily was right; this was the dress for me. "Perfect. I'm glad this didn't take all day." While I was excited about my dress, if Lily wasn't going to honor my concerns, I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of being excited over the dress she had found for me.

"Really Rose, that's all of the excitement you can muster?" Emily asked as she took finally came out of the dressing room.

Turning my head over my right shoulder, I smiled upon seeing her standing tall in a jade green halter dress. "You look fantastic Em." I said with a smile, refusing to respond to her previous jab.

Emily grinned broadly at me before glancing down at her dress, "Thanks." She paused for a few seconds to look at herself before she looked back up at me, "Why are you so concerned by the fact that Frank is going with Adeline?"

My jaw dropped slightly open as my eyes shifted back and forth from Lily and Emily, an incredulous expression on my face. "Frank's my best friend," I repeated, "I think I have some obligation to voice my concern if he's getting involved with a _viper_ like Adeline."

From her spot on the couch Lily rolled her eyes. I took that as my cue to get back in the dressing room and change out of the dress. I would listen to her response but I wasn't going to dignify her facial expressions by bearing witness to them. "Though I like the visual that the word viper offers, how do you know she's as bad as you say?" Lily questioned, "Frank is a good judge of character. I'm sure she's perfectly nice to him and if she makes him happy then that's all we can ask for."

From inside the dressing room I scoffed loudly. "I think I've spent enough time around Adeline to know that she really is all that bad." Though I was frustrated and anxious I took care to slip the dress off gently as I didn't want to ruin it.

"You know Rose, we could all say the same thing about your relationship with Scorpius." Emily chimed.

My mouth dropped open as I slipped my sweater back over my head. "You most certainly cannot!" I exclaimed indignantly as I pulled back the dressing room curtain. "That's not even close to being the same thing. It's not as if the two of us are going to the ball together or have any intention of becoming anything other than friends."

The skeptical look on Lily's face told me that there was something in my previous statement that did not sit well with her. However, she didn't give me a chance to question her, "Well, it's not as if you know what Frank's intentions with Adeline are. Maybe he just thought that she would make a good date."

While I didn't buy Lily's explanation for a second, with a grumble I decided to let the matter go for the time being. "I'll just have to have a talk with Frank and figure out exactly where he's going with this."

As we walked to the front of the store to pay for our merchandise I heard Lily groan, "Don't make yourself look like a fool Rosie."

This time around it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Please Lils, I know what I'm doing."

_Scorpius_

The small plastic bag swinging back and forth from my right hand was becoming a nuisance and I wanted nothing more than to get back to the castle and drop it off. Though my mother had already sent me my black dress robes I had been in need of a new bowtie. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I was done with my purchases, I was stuck in Hogsmeade on account of the fact that Charles needed new dress robes and Claudia was desperate for another pair of shoes.

As the lot of us strolled down the main street I spotted Rose a few yards ahead, a rather disgruntled look on her face. Seeing her pursed lips I couldn't help but frown, wondering what it was that was bothering her. With Lily and Emily in tow, Rose began to walk towards my group. As she picked up her head the two of us locked eyes and I gave her a small, wary smile. I knew Rose was apt to lash out when she was in foul mood and I wasn't keen on being on the receiving end of a tempter tantrum.

Much to my surprise however, when Rose saw me she allowed a broad smile to replace the sullen look she had been previously wearing. I couldn't help but feel rather smug at the fact that I was the cause of such a positive improvement in her mood.

As our two groups inched closer to one another I slowed my pace, wanting to stop and talk to Rose for a moment. I had nothing of particular importance to convey to her, I had simply grown to enjoy conversing with her.

Rose had slowed her pace as well and we soon found ourselves face to face. "It appears that someone finally managed to drag you out of the library and away from your books. Never thought I would see the day Rose." A regular greeting would have been totally out of the ordinary for the two of us.

Her smile quickly transformed into a smirk as she suppressed a laugh, "Maybe someone should drag you _into_ the library Scorpius. Perhaps then you'd actually be able to keep up with me." Rose batted her lashes at me smugly. The expression she currently wore on her face vaguely resembled the one that I was apt to give people. I was more than amused that she was beginning to pick up my smug facial expressions.

Despite myself I couldn't chuckle. Now that the proper jabs had been exchanged, the actual conversation could commence. "What do you have in the bag?" I asked, curiously peering down to see what it was that Rose had purchased.

Pulling back her arm quickly, Rose snatched the bag out of my line of vision. "My dress for next weekend." She replied cheerfully, with a small grin.

"In that case, I do hope you managed to buy something decent. If you show up looking even more hideous than usual I might not be able to speak to you. Reputation to uphold and all that" I teased. Pleased with my remark I allowed a small chuckle to pass through my lips.

Rose pursed her lips, no doubt in an effort to refrain from laughing. With a roll of her eyes she sidestepped to my right, "You mean your reputation of being a total scoundrel?" With an airy laugh, Rose began to walk off with Lily and Emily at her side.

Amused, I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later." I called after her, receiving only a wave in return.

As Rose had walked off, I too once more resumed my stroll down main street. I could feel Claudia's eyes on the back of my skull and I was only too certain what it was that was bothering her. "Have something you would like to say to me?" I questioned, totally unconcerned. I was making a significant effort to portray my sentiment in my tone of voice.

"You know, I'm not the only one whose noticed it Scorp." Claudia's tone was accusatory to the point of being almost contemptuous.

"I can assure you that I have no idea what you're talking about." If the bumbling bimbo had a problem with my friendship with Rose I was more than prepared to tell her to sod off.

"Your friendship with the Weasley girl, that's what." This time it was Charles Flint who spoke up.

"Oh, give it a break you two." Emmanuel groaned from my side.

"No Emmanuel, he ought to hear this." Charles insisted. "It's not like it is with you and Molly. She's a Ravenclaw, she's quiet and minds her own business. Rose Weasley is a Gryffindor, she's tried to one – up our entire house for the last sixth and a half years and she does everything but mind her own business. The entire house has noticed how much time you spend with her Scorpius."

Upon hearing those words, my jaw clenched and my grip on the small bag I was holding tightened. Despite my annoyance and frustration however, I didn't say a single word. This time around it wasn't just Claudia who seemed to have a problem with the company I was currently keeping; it was the whole bloody house. I was going to have to find a way to properly deal with the situation.

Unfortunately, by eight o'clock that evening I had yet to come up with a reasonable solution to the dilemma undoubtedly caused by Claudia's big mouth. Even worse, I was heading to the library and Rose was sure to be there waiting for me, sitting at our table. As I entered the library, my feet naturally carried me towards the section for advanced history of magic students. Through the stacks I could see Rose sitting with her nose in a book, her materials stacked neatly off to the side to make room for my belongings. Behind me I could hear a Charles and a few of the other seventh year Slytherins muttering amongst each other at another table.

I kept walking and eventually Rose became aware of my arrival. She picked up her head and smiled lightly in greeting, "About time you showed up. Mind proofreading my Defense essay?" In one swift motion Rose produced the roll of parchment and held it out for me to take. "I'm pretty sure all of the content is correct but I wrote it rather quickly so I may have a few grammatical errors."

Taking in a deep breath I placed a hand on my chair and towered over the table for a few seconds, considering my options. "I can't". The words spilled out of my mouth automatically before I had even had the opportunity to properly weigh my options.

"Oh?" Rose questioned, putting the roll of parchment back onto the table. "Is your social life so busy that you can't pencil me in this evening?" She teased. Though Rose was poking fun at the situation, I could tell that she was perplexed and slightly irritated by my response.

"No, nothing like that." I shook my head, forcing a grin. "I promised a few of my housemates that I would help them with some Transfiguration work."

"Oh, alright. Well, tomorrow then." Rose nodded her head.

"Maybe" Was the only response I could give her. If my entire house was busy muttering about me behind my back it was going to take more than one evening to deal with the situation.

With a small grin, I waved Rose off and turned around to head back to the table occupied by the seventh year Slytherins. As I turned left through the book stacks I looked over to see that Rose was watching my retreating form, clearly aware of the fact that what I had told her didn't even touch on the truth.

Once I was out of Rose's line of vision I let out a sigh. There was a churning feeling in my stomach, making me feel absolutely awful about the fact that I had lied to Rose. Bending the truth and flat out lying to people was a daily occurrence for me, but for some reason, with Rose it felt distinctly wrong. I don't think that I had ever lied to her before this. However, what was done was done and I had to focus on regaining control over my house again.


	24. fou

**A/N: Hey everyone. I just want to apologize for not responding to all of you who reviewed. I REALLY appreciate all of your reviews, THANK YOU sooo much. I'm just very busy as of late and I didn't want to cut into the little time I had to write. I will however, in the future, do my very best to start responding to reviews again - SORRY, I do really appreciate them, they mean a lot. I don't think that this is my best writing but I hope y'all enjoy it nonetheless. Let me know if there's anything in particular that you would like to see in the story/criticisms/things you don't want to see, etc. ENJOY**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned, alas I do not.**

"Do you think it was something I said?" I wondered out loud as I held up two different pairs of shoes for Emily to consider. It was finally the day of the house unity ball and while everyone else in the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dorm was having an aneurysm over the right shade of lipstick, I was busy pestering Emily with questions about Scorpius' odd behavior.

"Those." Emily replied, pointing to the nude colored heels I was holding in my right hand. "And Rose, I'm sure you didn't do anything. We're all acutely aware of the fact that Scorpius Malfoy is a bit of a git. Maybe it's just coming to the surface this week." Emily shot me a small reassuring smile and while it didn't do much to quell my suspicions, I appreciated the gesture.

"I suppose you're right." I sighed, throwing the black heels back into their box before gingerly placing the shoes Emily had selected on the floor by my bed.

Over the past week I had spent a very miniscule amount of time with Scorpius. We greeted each other in the halls if our paths crossed, and we sat with one another while preparing the troupe for the trivia challenge. However, that was it. There hadn't been any late night study sessions this week, nor any impromptu walks to class together. Though it had only been a month since Scorpius and I had developed our routine, it was rather off-putting for me to not have him around. I genuinely desired his company at this point.

"Rose, stop worrying about it!" Emily snapped, looking at me through her vanity mirror as she played with her hair, experimenting with different styles for tonight. "It's really not worth it."

"I know, I know, I know!" I rattled the words off as quickly as an auctioneer, holding my hands up in defense.

Logically, Emily was absolutely right. Scorpius and I had only been friends for two months now, so it wasn't as if we had any substantial history to fall back on. Plus, like Emily had said, he was a moody prat and was probably just in one of his states at the moment. As I prided myself on being a rational person I ought to have put Scorpius out of my mind for the time being. However, in the pit of my stomach I knew it was something other than Scorpius' moodiness that was pulling him away. After all, when we were together there was nothing distant about his demeanor.

"Rose!" Yet again, Emily's voice pierced through my thoughts.

Ashamed that I had been caught, yet again, I slowly turned my head in Emily's direction and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry." I grumbled, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know what it is, I just can't stop myself from wondering what's gotten into him." Having set my dress out on my bed I nervously began to fiddle with the silk material.

"I mean, it's perfectly normal to worry about someone you care for." The nonchalance with which Emily uttered those words astonished me. I turned my head and looked at her in shock, my mouth slightly agape.

"Something I said?" Emily questioned, widening her eyes upon noticing the shocked look I had on my face.

I thought for a second and shook my head, closing my mouth. "No, nothing." I replied simply. At first I had been shocked by Emily's presumption that I _cared_ about Scorpius. However, Emily was right. It was only natural for me to care about Scorpius now that we had become close friends. It was merely a shock to my system to realize that I truly cared about Scorpius Malfoy in the same way I cared for the rest of my close friends. At the start of the year I would have found the prospect both hysterical and extremely disturbing.

After letting out one last heavy sigh, I placed my hands on my knees and stood up off of my bed. "I'm going to start getting ready." I announced. It was true that I cared about Scorpius, but if he wanted to behave in such a foul manner then I was going to allow him to do so. He would either come to his senses or… I shook my head and stopped my train of thought. I didn't want to consider the other option. Scorpius would come to his senses eventually, and that was the end of it. At this point, it was too hard for me to imagine not having Scorpius as my friend.

Trying to clear my head and get into a better state of mind I clapped my hands together and bounced on the balls of my feet. "Alright, let's do this!" I exclaimed, pulling back the corners of my lips into a smile. My cheerful attitude was a bit forced but by feigning being upbeat I was hoping that it would eventually rub off and I would actually become excited for tonight's festivities. I had three hours until I was supposed to meet Nathaniel and I intended to be a good date this evening.

Seeing my unusual behavior, Emily raised a brow in my direction before shaking her head with a laugh, "Well okay then."

With that, I went about getting ready for the evening. Much to my surprise, it did in fact take me almost the whole three hours to get to a point where I was thoroughly pleased with my appearance. While I was usually the one nagging girls who took too long to get ready, this evening I wanted to make sure I looked perfect. On the one hand I wanted to look good for my date, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think that it would be nice to have Scorpius see me looking better than I usually did during our trivia practices.

"Ready?" I questioned of Emily and Lily as I took one last look at myself in the mirror. About an hour ago Lily had waltzed into the seventh year dormitory to finish getting ready.

"Ready to dazzle!" Lily exclaimed with a laugh as she finished putting in her earrings. Rolling my eyes, I cracked a smile before opening the dormitory door and leading the way down to the common room. Nathaniel was waiting for me just outside the portrait of the fat lady, as were both Emily and Lily's dates.

The fat lady swung open to reveal the three boys grouped together, exchanging jokes and hearty laughs.

"Hello boys." I greeted with a small smile as I gingerly stepped out into the hallway after Emily.

Nathaniel stepped forward and took my arm, placing a small kiss on my cheek, "You look great Rose."

The compliment brought a bit of color to my cheeks, "Thanks. You don't look too shabby yourself." Nathaniel had neatly combed his shiny chestnut hair and his black dress robes were immaculate.

"What are your plans for after the ball?" Nathaniel questioned as we made our way down to the Great Hall.

"I'm not sure really. I'm assuming we'll have some sort of party in the common room." It would be a complete shock if some of the boys didn't sneak in firewhiskey. My money was on Albus pulling it off.

Nathaniel nodded, "Well, a bunch of us have some plans up in the Astronomy tower if you're feeling adventurous enough to sneak around."

Laughing lightly, I nodded my head, "I will most definitely consider it."

A smile crossed Nathaniel's face, "Good," he added with a nod.

A few moments later we entered the completely refurbished Great Hall. The staff had cleared the two long tables and the perimeter of the hall was lined with small circular tables fit for groups of six. At the front of the hall, the staff table had been replaced by a stage where a band was busy getting ready. The entire hall was decorated in the colors of the four houses and various banners and streamers intertwined the colors and mascots. To top it all off the enchanted ceiling reflected the serene, starry night sky.

Nathaniel let out a small whistle of admiration, "Well this is something." I couldn't help but agree. It was refreshing to see this display of unanimity after months of intense competition.

"Would you like something to drink?" Nathaniel asked with a smile. With a nod of my head, Nathaniel was off to procure our beverages. After exchanging a few words with Lily and Emily, the two girls followed their dates to go and greet people.

Turning my head, I glanced over to the refreshment table. I could see that Nathaniel had become distracted while on his quest to procure us butterbeers. One of the Ravenclaw chasers had started a conversation with him and now the two boys seemed deeply engrossed in whatever it was that they were discussing. With a small sigh I let my eyes wander around the room. I didn't like the fact that Nathaniel had left me to stand alone in a ballroom filled with couples and large groups, and I couldn't help but wring my hands nervously.

Another sigh left my lips and as I glanced off to the right, I spotted Adeline and Frank. A sour look crossed my face as I examined the couple. Adeline was currently laughing at something Frank had said and she reached out to gently touch his arm. Despite the friendly scene in front of me I still didn't trust Adeline in the least. She was completely wrong for Frank and utterly beneath him. With one last sickly sweet smile in Frank's direction, Adeline turned on her heel and walked off. Taking one last glance to my left I made sure that Nathaniel was still deeply engrossed in his conversation before I took off in Frank's direction.

As I entered Frank's line of vision the young man smiled broadly before looking me up and down. "Rosie, look at you. You look gorgeous." He complimented before reaching out to hug me.

"Thanks Frank. You look rather dapper yourself." I replied with a smile before kissing him on the cheek. I was silent for a second as I pulled back but I couldn't contain myself for long, "Where's Adeline?" I questioned, starting off with as innocent a query as I could manage.

"One of the other Slytherin girls needed her for a moment. She should be back shortly. Where's Nathaniel?" Frank countered.

Playfully, I rolled my eyes and nodded off to the right, "He's been distracted. They're probably talking about the last Puddlemere United game, or girls, or whatever it is that you boys talk about."

Frank glanced over my shoulder and upon spotting Nathaniel nodded his head. "Well, that's rather rude isn't it?" Though a laugh followed the accusation, I could tell Frank was serious. While it was a bit rude, Nathaniel's absence gave me the perfect opportunity to voice my concerns to Frank.

"It's fine," I lied with a wave of my hand. "Besides, there is something I did want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Frank looked confused and slightly taken aback. After all, who in their right mind would want to discuss something of personal importance at a moment like this? "Is something the matter Rosie?" Even though this was a conversation Frank would have preferred to put off until a more appropriate time, he still seemed concerned with what I wanted to share with him. This was exactly why he was too good for Adeline.

"How serious are you and Adeline?" I blurted out. This was clearly not the most tactful way to handle the situation but I didn't have much time for, the girl in question could reappear at any moment.

The stunned look on Frank's face betrayed the fact that this was not something he had been expecting me to bring up. "W-what?" He stammered out, his brows furrowing together.

"Frank, you're my best friend," I began, softening my tone of voice as I reached out to gently touch his upper arm, "I'm just trying to look out for you, that's all." I would save my opinion of Adeline for when I was sure that Franks intentions with her extended beyond this evening.

Frank's expression softened and he smiled lightly at me, "There's no reason to worry about me Rosie, I can take care of myself."

Inwardly, I groaned. I wasn't sure if Frank knew where I was going with this or whether he was just utterly oblivious. Either way he was being extremely unhelpful. "Oh, I know you can." I replied in the same soft tone of voice. "But can't I be interested in knowing what's going on in your life?"

With a chuckle, Frank nodded his head, "Of course you can Rosie." My money was now officially on Frank simply being oblivious. "Don't tell anyone but…" Frank paused for a moment to glance around before he dropped his voice and leaned forward, "I do happen to really like Adeline. If tonight goes well I'm going to ask her out to dinner and well, we shall see what happens then." As Frank pulled back there was a broad grin on his face that almost made me rethink what I was about to say.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Frank? She seems entirely untrustworthy to me." I had dropped my soft tone of voice and now I sounded more like a teacher reprimanding a student than I did Frank's best friend.

"What would make you say such a thing?" Frank questioned, taking a small step back.

"For starters, three years of sharing prefect duties with her." I retorted. I could feel myself becoming slightly frustrated by the fact that Frank wasn't seeing things in the way that I was.

Frank looked at me for a moment before frowning and pursing his lips together, "Like I said earlier Rose, I can take care of myself." His voice was stern and I could tell that he was becoming annoyed with me. "Adeline has been nothing but sweet to me and we get along very well."

Taking a deep breath I refrained from rolling my eyes, "She could be sweet to you know but…" Before I could finish my thought, Frank held his hand up to cut me off.

"Rose, you're my best friend but do you really think that this is the best situation for _you _to be commenting on?" A pointed look was the only clue Frank gave me as to what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?" I raised my voice, slightly alarmed by the implication.

Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted Adeline gliding over to where we were standing and I groaned audibly, just loud enough for Frank to hear me and shoot me a sharp look.

"Hello Rose. Nice to see you." The Slytherin prefect greeted as she wrapped her left arm around Frank's right. Truthfully I knew Adeline was just as happy to see me as I was to see her. My only response came in the way of a small smile as I observed her size me up.

"I hope I didn't miss anything too interesting in the way of conversation." Adeline's voice dripped honey as she glanced up at Frank over her lashes. I would have feigned being sick if I could get away with it.

"No nothing." Frank lied, smiling back at his date. "In fact, Rose was just about to go find Nathaniel, isn't that right Rosie?" Turning his gaze in my direction, Frank narrowed his eyes ever so slightly in order to let me know that he no longer required my presence.

In shock, I opened my mouth to respond in the affirmative. I would give this one to Frank, but he would be hearing about it later. "That's right." I lied through gritted teeth. Slowly, I turned my head to glance over my shoulder but much to my delight I saw Nathaniel heading in my direction with a butterbeer in each hand. "Oh, look at that, he seems to have found us instead!" Nathaniel had just earned several points in my book.

"Wonderful." Frank replied in a less than enthusiastic manner.

"Hey guys!" Nathaniel greeted cheerfully as he came to a stop on my left. A broad smile graced his handsome face, as he was totally oblivious to what had just transpired between Frank and myself. "Here you go Rose. I'm sorry it took so long but I got a bit caught up in a conversation." He apologized as he handed me a butterbeer.

_Scorpius_

At this point in the conversation, a quick scan of the room was necessary in order for me to maintain my sanity. While I enjoyed a good political debate as much as the next intelligent and well – informed individual, Emmeline and her friends made the idea of getting my teeth drilled by a muggle dentist sound more appealing. Neither Emmeline nor any of her "wit-filled" Ravenclaw housemates added anything new to the conversation; they were simply rehashing points made by idiotic pundits in the Daily Prophet. There was very little analysis and the conversation was entirely devoid of witty remarks. If this conversation dragged on for much longer I was sure that I would begin to tear my hair out in frustration. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but thank the ratty old Sorting Hat for not placing me in Ravenclaw.

From my position I very quickly spotted Rose across the room engaging in a very heated conversation with Frank Longbottom. Though my vantage point only provided me a view of Rose's profile, I had to admit that she had cleaned up incredibly well. The silk material of her dress clung to her fit frame and her up-do revealed her long neckline. Part of me really wanted to go speak to Rose and exchange barbs with her over each others appearances before we both finally admitted that the other looked good. Alas, I couldn't. I had to maintain my distance for a while longer until I was able to assure my house that ultimately, my loyalties lay with Slytherin.

My eyes flitted over from Rose's profile over to Longbottom's face. Almost instantly my expression soured. I had never been a fan of Frank Longbottom and my hatred of him had multiplied when he and Rose had begun dating. The feeling had not dissipated when Rose dumped him. For all of my hatred of Longbottom however, I could not help but notice the annoyed and uncomfortable expression that he wore on his face. Frankly I couldn't believe that anything Rose had said could cause such an expression, all of these years Longbottom had practically worshipped the ground Rose walked on. Quickly, I glanced over at Rose's face to see that she wore a similar frustrated expression; eyes narrowed, jaws clenched and lips pursed into a pucker. I knew that expression well, as I had been on the receiving end quite frequently. Clearly the two friends were having a spat. Squinting, I strained my eyes to try and see if I could read either of their lips but the only word I could make out was 'Adeline'. Were they having a fight over Longbottom's date to the ball?

"Are you alright Scorpius?" Emmeline's hand on my arm informed me that I had been staring off across the room for too long.

Clearing my throat, I blinked a few times before I turned my head towards my date for the evening, "Yes, everything is perfect." I lied before flashing the group a dazzling smile. I may have been bored out of my mind with this conversation but I did have some semblance of manners.

"Oh good, we thought we lost you there for a second." Emmeline giggled before looping her left arm around my right. Forcing a smile I looked down at her and shook my head. The night was still young and for the sake of my reputation I had to have everyone bear witness to my pretty date fawning over me. After about an hour I would be able to sour our relationship and actually go enjoy myself.

"So Scorpius, what do you think about the Minister's new education policy?" One of Emmeline's male housemates asked. Inwardly, I groaned and it took every once of self – control that I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. Clearly, they had yet to finish their regurgitation of newspaper editorials.

"Well, I think that there is ample evidence that certain aspects of our education system are in dire need of reform." Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Rose's date, Nathaniel, joined Rose, Longbottom, and Adeline. Furrowing my brows, I watched as Rose let out a forced laugh and gingerly placed her right hand on Longbottom's forearm. The short – lived surprised look that crossed Nathaniel's face revealed the fact that he did not enjoy the display of affection. What on earth was she doing?

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

Merlin's beard, what on earth did this idiot think I meant by that? Sneering, I turned my attention onto the Ravenclaws in front of me, "I think that, at the present time, our schooling system is too rewarding of rote memorization and simple regurgitation." A snide smirk followed my comment. For a few moments, the group seemed a bit confused and put – off by my statement. Perhaps they were finally catching on to the fact that I was keeping them in mind as I made my comments.

A few seconds later the looks of confusion washed away and they all seemed to nod in unison. "That's a very insightful comment Scorpius. I completely agree with you." Clearly, this lot wasn't as bright as they thought they were.

I forced a smile before turning my attention back onto the train wreck that were Rose's actions at the moment. She had taken a few steps towards Longbottom and had managed to loop her left arm around his right, pulling him away from Adeline and towards her. Both Longbottom and Nathaniel looked extremely uncomfortable while Adeline was both stunned and annoyed. I groaned audibly. Rose looked like a complete fool and I didn't have it in me to let her go on this way.

Turning my head to the right I looked down at Emmeline and patted her arm, "Excuse me for a moment." Before Emmeline could answer, I took off in Rose's direction, crossing the room within a matter of seconds. From where she was standing, Rose could see me coming and she held up her right hand in greeting. "Scorpius!" She exclaimed once I was within a few feet of the motley group. Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed extremely discombobulated.

Gritting my teeth, I refrained from snapping at her right away, "Rose, could I speak to you for a moment? It's urgent."

Rose looked surprise, and I couldn't blame her. We had, had very little contact with one another over the last week, something that I regretted.

"Of course." Came the reply. Nodding my head in acknowledgment, I grabbed Rose by the arm and gently pulled her away from the group.

"What's this about Scorpius?" Rose questioned, looked at me inquisitively. Despite her query, I remained silent until I had managed to find a quite corner on the far side of the ballroom. Once I was sure that we were out of earshot, I glowered at Rose, "What on earth are you doing?" I hissed.

Rose looked stunned and she leaned back, away from my frustrated expression. "What are you talking about?" She demanded.

Before replying I took a deep breath and neutralized my expression. I knew from experience that getting angry and yelling at Rose would get me nowhere. It would just make her defensive and snappy. "I'm talking about the way you're behaving with Longbottom over there." My tone of voice was much calmer and now I sounded more concerned than angry.

"I have no idea what you're referring to." Rose snapped defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. She clearly knew exactly what I was talking about.

I gave her a pointed look and was silent for a second, "Rose, you look ridiculous. What are you doing hanging all over Longbottom and arguing with him over his date? You came with Corner, don't alienate him and your filthy friend at the same time." I was trying to help Rose but that didn't mean I had any kind words to spare for Longbottom.

A cross look flashed across Rose's face and I knew that I was in for it now, "Listen here Scorpius," she began, stabbing my chest with her right index finger, "You've barely spoken to me all week so what gives you the right to assault me and criticize my behavior?"

Clenching my jaw, I inhaled sharply through my nose. I was tempted to grab Rose by the shoulders and shake her but I merely clenched my fists and stuffed my hands into my pockets, "Listen here Rose," I mocked, "you're making yourself look like a complete and utter fool over there. I'm just trying to help. Don't be pig-headed about it."

By some miracle, my words seemed to resonate with Rose and her expression softened slightly, "I just don't like Adeline for Frank. He could do so much better." She replied, wrinkling her nose as she glanced across the room.

At those words I couldn't help but roll my eyes in disgust, "Longbottom would be lucky if he got a date with a female troll." Rose's eyes flashed angrily in my direction but all I could do was chuckle. Perhaps it sounded a bit harsh, but someone had to be honest about the situation. "I don't buy it Rose. It's something else." I added. Over the past couple of months I had gotten to know Rose rather well and if she simply thought Adeline was beneath Longbottom she would have just ignored the girl, she wouldn't have fawned over Lonbottom. A light bulb went off in my mind and I wrinkled my nose in disgust, "It's one of those, if you don't want him then no one else can have him situations, isn't it?" I was tempted to be sick.

Rose looked appalled and was silent for a second before she began to vehemently deny my accusation, "No, of course not!" From the urgency in her voice I could tell that I was right.

"Rose, stop acting like an idiot and get over it. You can't control Longbottom's love life and you need to let him expand his social circle. You're only hurting your reputation." My tone of voice was forceful, as I wanted to convey to her how serious I was.

"Why is this any of your concern anyway?" Rose questioned. Both her expression and her tone of voice had softened. I was glad that I had managed to get through to her.

Sighing, I contemplated coming up with some half-assed lie. There was no point in trying to make something up, Rose would be able to tell that I was lying. Besides, after this conversation I was going to have act even more distant with Rose and I thought that I owed it to her to be truthful, "Because I consider you a good friend Rose," I paused for a second, "and I care about you."

Rose looked stunned by the admission but quickly, a small smile appeared on her face and she opened her mouth to say something. Frowning, I took a small step back and shook my head. "Right, well, that takes care of that scheduling conflict." I said loudly, so that the people around us could hear, "I will see you at trivia practice." With that, I turned on my heel and walked back towards Emmeline. It was true, I had come to care about Rose and her well – being but I wasn't willing to inflict any more damage to my reputation. Everyone had to be led to believe that the relationship between Rose and I was purely professional.

"Sorry about that." I slinked an arm around Emmeline's waist and watched, out of the corner of my eye as Rose returned to Nathaniel, focusing her attention onto her date and away from Longbottom.


	25. the hangover

**A/N: I am finally back home from College and have time to write again. So, I'm determined to finish this story this summer... It's been a long time coming. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing, and of course to everyone putting this story on their various lists. I've already started writing the next chapter, so it will be coming out soon. Please keep reviewing and let me know if you have any criticism of the story or ideas!  
**

**DISCLAIMER. Don't own. 'Tis all. **

As I started to come to I could feel the left side of my head pounding. The pain was so acute that it felt as if my brain was literally pulsating against my skull. I could feel a rough fabric against my face and I couldn't help but frown in confusion. Not wanting to open my eyes just yet, I moved my left arm forward and touched whatever it was that I had leaned my head against. As my hand made contact I realized that it was somebody's leg. Out of reflex, my hand gripped the thigh in shock and I immediately heard a deep groan. Startled, I scrambled up and blinked my eyes open.

For a few seconds my brain was too busy trying to process the image of Nathaniel, passed out, to react to my situation. Nathaniel furrowed his bushy brows and slid further down the wall of the astronomy tower. Letting out a sigh, I rubbed my forehead and scooted back against the wall. As I leaned back, my right hand came upon a shard of glass. Frowning, I turned my head and glanced down to see that I had stumbled upon a broken bottle of firewhiskey. Allowing my eyes to scan the Astronomy tower, I noticed that there were several other empty bottles of whiskey and butterbeer lying about. As far as people went however, Nathaniel and I appeared to be the only two who had failed to make it back to their respective dormitories.

Shoving the broken bottle further away, I turned my attention onto Nathaniel. Reaching out my left arm I shoved his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. I should have probably been gentler but I was too hungover to make any effort at being polite about it. Nathaniel tipped over and groaned loudly before coming to full consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face before turning his head towards me.

"I feel terrible." He grumbled before doing a quick scan of the area around us. Having noticed how many bottles were littered around the Astronomy tower he tilted his head from side to side in consideration. "Yeah…that makes sense." He finally muttered.

"What time is it?" I asked in a low tone. Not only was my head pounding but my throat was also extremely dry and scratchy. I knew that if I tried to speak at any level above a whisper I would wind up sounding like an eighty-year-old man. Glancing away from Nathaniel I took a moment to observe the damage I had inflicted upon my dress. The hemline was tattered and dirty and the original, modest slit had made its way up to the middle of my thigh. It seemed as if I would have to permanently retire this gown.

"It's a quarter past eight."

I nodded my head and then took a deep breath, readying myself for the physicality of my next act. Slowly, I tried to stand up. Once I was up on my own two feet I reached a hand out and leaned my weight against the wall. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a few seconds to allow my blurry vision to recover.

"Where are you going?" Nathaniel questioned.

"My room." I paused for a moment, trying to clear the awful, hoarse feeling from my throat. "I really just need to get into my bed." That and it was absolutely crucial that I was in my bed before anyone else woke up or I would have hours of explaining to do.

Nathaniel nodded and I took that as my cue to start heading towards the Gryffindor tower. As I turned and began to walk away I was called back.

"Rose, what happened last night?"

Hearing this, I paused in my tracks without bothering to turn around. Tilting my head to the side I considered Nathaniel's question for a few seconds. I soon realized that my brain was in no state to try and recall the previous nights festivities.

"Ask me in a couple of hours." I mumbled with a wave of my hand before walking off.

It wasn't until about half past one that I managed to come to in my own bed. I was no longer tired and my headache had gone away for the most part. My biggest complaint at the moment was the fact that my mouth felt incredibly dry.

There were a few girls wandering about the dormitory, slowly getting ready for what was left of the day. Sighing, I turned my head so that I could stare straight up at the ceiling. Now that I was fully conscious I thought it would be a good idea to try and sort out what had happened during, and after the ball. The last thing that was perfectly clear was the conversation I had, had with Scorpius. As I recalled everything Scorpius had said to me I groaned loudly and rolled over onto my stomach, burying my face into my pillow. Scorpius had unabashedly called me out for my behavior and at this point, I didn't know what I was more embarrassed over – how I had accosted Frank about his potential relationship with Adeline, or the fact that, of all people, Scorpius had to be the one to set me straight.

I made a mental note to track Frank down and straighten things out with him. While I still thought Adeline was beneath Frank my actions at the ball had been fueled by jealousy, not concern. Frank was a big boy and he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

Everything after my conversation with Scorpius was a giant blur. I vaguely remembered dragging Nathaniel out of the Great Hall and up to the astronomy tower after the first few dances of the evening. The two of us had started the after party early and continued the evening's festivities well after his friends had joined us. However, while I could recall the trajectory of the evening, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall any specifics.

"Damn it." I muttered into my pillow. One of the reasons I didn't drink very often was because I tended to get a bit too touchy-feely and all I could do now was hope to Merlin that if something had happened between Nathaniel and I, he couldn't remember it either.

Deciding that my best course of action was just to sleep off my embarrassment, I closed my eyes and drift back to sleep. However, it seemed as if the universe had other plans for me for a few moments later I felt a pillow hit my backside.

While my head was no longer pounding I was still too tired to make a big fuss over what had just happened. Grumbling, I rolled onto my back and narrowed my eyes at the perpetrator.

Seeing the amused look on Emily's face, I frowned and stuck out my lower lip. "What was that for?" I couldn't help but wine.

"Oh stop Rosie." Emily rolled her eyes, a bemused smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "It's almost two in the afternoon, get up and do something." With that, Emily threw her pillow at my face and walked off.

With a sigh and an overly dramatic roll of my eyes, I shoved Emily's pillow off to the side and threw my legs over the side of the bed.

The castle halls were surprisingly quiet, even for a Sunday afternoon. Half the school was probably busy nursing a hangover. With my books in hand, I slowly made my way down towards the Great Hall. I hadn't had a single thing to eat since the previous evening and I was starving.

As I rounded the corner on the second floor, I spotted a very familiar blonde head. "Scorpius!" I called out without giving it a second thought.

Scorpius kept walking for a second before he finally stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face me. The look on Scorpius' face made it obvious that he did not want to be in this situation. "Rose." Scorpius nodded curtly, making me feel like we were back to the beginning of the year when we were first starting to learn how to tolerate each other.

It was then that something seemed to snap within me. He had no right to mess with my head in this way. If he didn't want to associate with me anymore, then he was just going to have to come out and say it. I wasn't about to go quietly, not after he had come out and told me he cared about me.

"So, how are you doing?" I questioned, placing a hand on my hip. I forced a wide, toothy smile and waited for Scorpius' reaction. I was going to push Scorpius as far as I could. He wasn't the only one who could play games.

"Pretty good." Scorpius replied awkwardly. I could see him glancing around nervously.

"Good, good." I nodded my head and smirked, "This morning was pretty rough but I'm feeling much better now. I was actually going to the Great Hall to grab a snack. Care to join me?" My mouth was rattling off a million words a minute. I sounded like an auctioneer.

Scorpius cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot, "I can't. Sorry."

"Oh, that's too bad." I frowned and tilted my head to the side. "Well, I'll be heading to the library to start that Transfiguration essay after I eat. Want to study together?"

"Um…" Scorpius trailed off and then shook his head, "Sorry, I'm busy later."

"Oh yeah? Doing what?" I questioned. The sickly sweet tone was slowly slipping out of my voice and was being replaced by a harsh, probing tone.

"I was planning on doing some flying around the pitch. I'm afraid I'll get rusty with the lack of Quidditch practice this year." Scorpius laughed, but it was a small, uncomfortable laugh.

"Can I come do _that_ with you?" I batted my lashes expectantly.

"No." Scorpius blurted out.

"Why not?" I snapped, taking a step forward and narrowing my eyes at him.

"What's this sudden desire to spend time with me Rose? Getting a little attached now, are we?" Scorpius deflected.

"What is your problem?" I had come out and said it and now there was no going back.

"Excuse me?" Scorpius frowned, shocked by my question.

"You." I pushed my index finger into Scorpius' chest. "You have a problem and I would really like to know what it is."

Scorpius sighed and grabbed my wrist, pushing my hand down. "Just drop it Rose. It's nothing."

Exasperated, I rolled my eyes. "I can tell when you're lying Scorpius. What is it? Did you finally, after all these months, finally come to the realization that I'm actually a Gryffindor? Is that what it is? Do you have a problem with being friends with a Gryffindor?" That was the only explanation I could come up with. For the past week and a half I had wracked my brain to try and see if I had done, or said, anything wrong, and I had come up blank.

Scorpius' face fell and he looked exhausted, "No I don't have a problem with the fact that you're a Gryffindor." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Then what in…" My voice trailed off as it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I finally understood why Scorpius' eyes hadn't stopped darting around the hallway, why he had been avoiding me for a week and a half, and why he had pretended as if last nights conversation had been about the trivia challenge. _He_ didn't have a problem with the fact that I was a Gryffindor but there were other people in his life that did.

A bitter chuckle slipped through my lips and I took a step back. Shaking my head, I gritted my teeth, giving myself a few seconds to sort through my thoughts. "Right, but some of your stuck up housemates do. Isn't that right Scorpius?"

Scorpius' eyes darted down to the floor and for a minute, he almost looked embarrassed. "Yes." He wasn't even going to try and deny it.

"That's great." I snapped sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest. "You get a snarky remark or two and you become the worlds biggest prick. My, you have such a strong sense of character." I bit down onto my lower lip and blinked back the tears that stung my eyes. Clearly, our friendship meant very little to Scorpius.

Scorpius let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head, "Don't act like you understand Rose. Thanks to all of the time I've been spending with you, people started to question my loyalty to the house."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. The fact that Scorpius had decided to treat me so poorly over such a petty reason infuriated me to no end. I could practically feel the anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach, temporarily pushing away the hurt. "Oh, poor you." I mocked, narrowing my eyes. "I couldn't possibly begin to understand what it must be like to have people making rude remarks over who I'm hanging out with. Every single member of my family is just so welcoming to Slytherins" I rolled my eyes and let out a scoff.

From the way Scorpius was fidgeting I could tell that he was starting to loose his patience with me. "It's different in my situation."

My jaw dropped open as I looked at him in disbelief. "I can't even listen to this anymore." I muttered putting up a hand to get him to shut up. "Well, I have some good news for you Scorpius. From now on, I'll help you to spend as little time with me as humanely possible." With that, I turned on my heel and marched towards the Great Hall. I heard Scorpius shout my name a few times but I didn't even consider turning around.

Fuming, I stomped into the Great Hall and planted myself at the Gryffindor table. Luckily, there were only a few other people in the hall and so there wouldn't be many witnesses to my fit of anger. Part of me regretted walking away from Scorpius without having slapped him clear across the face.

"Hey Rose." The deep voice came from behind me and I let out an exasperated sigh. I was not in the mood to engage in conversation with anyone at the moment.

Glancing over my shoulder I could see Nathaniel smiling down at me, hands stuffed into his pockets, a confident smile gracing his lips.

"Hello Nathaniel." Came my cool response. This was about as polite as I could be to Nathaniel.

Without batting a lash, Nathaniel sat next to me and leaned his back against the Gryffindor table. "So, I managed to recall some of last night's events." From the grin on his face I had definitely kissed him.

I forced a smile and nodded my head, "Good to hear."

"So Rose, I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me next weekend. Figure we could have a proper date." Nathaniel tilted his head to the side and looked at me hopefully.

I opened my mouth, fully intending to accept his invitation. In fact, I was tempted to grab Nathaniel by the face and plant one right on him. That would show Scorpius that I was perfectly fine without him around. As that thought crossed my mind, something seemed to click. I wasn't attracted to Nathaniel in the least, and yet here I was, ready to go out with him for the sole purpose of showing up Scorpius Malfoy.

An audible groan left my lips as I realized that I had become just the kind of girl I had spent years making fun of.

Nathaniel was startled by my reaction, "Rose, if you don't want…"

Holding up a hand, I quickly cut him off. "Sorry Nathaniel, that wasn't directed toward you." Frowning, I shook my head. My thoughts were so jumbled at the moment that I could barely keep myself from stumbling over my words. "I have to go Nathaniel, I'm sorry." Quickly, I gathered up my books and stood up.

"What about my dinner invitation?"

"Sorry, no." I blurted out quickly before turning around and practically jogging out of the Great Hall. There was no time for the library; I had to decide whom I could rope into talking me out of fancying Scorpius Malfoy.


	26. friendly advice

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! The pace of it is a little slower but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. THANKS so much to everyone who has reviewed. I'm going to work on replying to your reviews again. It might take me a little while so be patient with me but please keep the reviews coming as I really enjoy reading them. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I have a summer job, alas I clearly don't own HP... or else I wouldn't.  
**

"Wait, I'm sorry, what?"

With a loud groan, I fell back onto my bed and stretched out my arms. It was Monday, the day after my confrontation with Scorpius, and I had finally come clean to Lily about my personal discovery. "You've been saying that for the last ten minutes Lils." I mumbled, covering my eyes with my right hand. "Switch it up a little bit please."

Lily let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of my bed. She pursed her lips and swung her legs back and forth for a few seconds before she turned her head towards me. "But why now?" She questioned, "I mean, he's been acting like such a pain in the ass for the last two weeks and this is when you choose to develop a crush? Why?"

Rolling my eyes, I propped myself up onto my elbows. "Because I really like it when people are mean to me." I replied sarcastically, giving my cousin a pointed look.

Lily didn't seem to appreciate my sarcasm for she reached out a hand and gave my calf a hard slap.

"I don't really think I developed this _crush_ over this past week. I just, I think that…" I let myself trail off realizing that I didn't really know what it was that I thought. "I guess I just realized it last night, that's all."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and stretched out along the width of my bed. Turning her head to look at me she blinked a few times before speaking, "Have you told anyone else?"

Scoffing, I shook my head. "Are you kidding me?" I questioned, an incredulous expression on my face. "Sorry no, but I'd prefer to avoid causing a string of heart attacks throughout the Weasley – Potter clan. Thanks." The corners of my lips pulled up to give Lily a short, cheeky smile.

"Oh, but you're okay with telling me? No concern for my health?"

Lily began to laugh and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her before joining in. The two of us were soon in a fit of giggles and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't control myself. The last couple of days had been rough and it felt good to just let go of some of the pressure and breath a little.

It took a few minutes but I was finally able to catch my breath and quell the incessant laughter. "I figured you were the least likely relative to keel over and die at the news."

Lily smiled and opened her mouth to give me some sort of smart-ass remark. A second later however, her smile faltered and her eyes became far more serious. "You know, there is someone else you could talk to."

"Who?" I questioned impulsively, leaning against my bed's backboard.

Lily rolled her eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. "For a smart girl Rosie you can be extremely dense. Molly of course! Who else would I be talking about?"

Tilting my head to the side, I gave Lily a skeptical look, "Now why on earth would I go talk to Molly about this?" Hearing Molly gush about her wonderful relationship with Emmanuel was the last thing I wanted to hear at the moment. The mere though of having that conversation was enough to make me ill.

For a moment it looked as if Lily was ready to slap me. However, my fiery cousin managed to quell her anger as her only reaction was an exasperated sigh. "Because she's dating a Slytherin." Lily's tone was very nonchalant, as if the answer should have been clear to me as well. "Scorpius happens to also be a Slytherin, Emmanuel's best friend as a matter of fact. If you talk to Molly maybe she can tell you how she and Emmanuel managed to work it out. She might even be able to give you some insight into why Scorpius is being such a prick." Once she was done, Lily shrugged her shoulders and crossed her legs. There was a small, smug smile threatening to break out across her face.

Furrowing my brows, I considered what Lily had just said to me. While she was right on some level, my situation was markedly different than Molly's. Scorpius was a _Malfoy,_ and that still meant something to my family, especially to my father. I remembered the awful reaction my father had, had when he realized that I had made friends with Scorpius. I couldn't even imagine what he would do if I started dating Scorpius. In all probability the house would blow up.

"I can't talk to Molly about this." I muttered, shaking my head.

Lily groaned, "Why not?" She questioned. Her voice had undertaken a whining undertone.

"Because Lils, I don't want to date Scorpius." I replied simply, shrugging my shoulders.

Lily frowned and squinted her eyes at me, "What?" She jumped off the bed and paced around towards my desk, "I'm sorry, did you not just tell me that you fancied Scorpius? Isn't that what we've spent the last half hour discussing?"

Groaning, I slid down the backboard so that I was resting my head on my pillow. "Yes, I do happen to like Scorpius but…" sighing, I ran my hand over my face, "I can't date him Lils, and you know it. My dad would probably go off and murder Draco Malfoy if I even hinted at the fact that Scorpius and I were together."

Even though I wasn't looking at Lily I could imagine the annoyed look she was giving me. When I heard her click her tongue disapprovingly I picked up my head and looked at her. "What?" I questioned defensively, "You know it's the truth."

"Rosie, Uncle Ron will get over it." She grumbled, glancing over at my desk. She picked up a few of my papers and ruffled through them before setting them back down onto the desk and looking over at me.

"You're assuming Scorpius reciprocates my feelings." I grumbled in a last ditch effort to get Lily off my case.

Lily wrinkled her nose and looked down at me before making her way over to the door that led out of the dormitory, "Go talk to Molly or I'll go make sure Hugo knows about your personal development." Before I could a word in, Lily waggled her fingers at me and left.

Frustrated, I fell back onto my bed and rolled onto my stomach, letting out a small scream into my pillow.

However, before I knew it, I found myself lurking in front of the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower. The riddle to enter the tower was simple enough but I still hadn't made up my mind over whether or not I actually wanted to speak to Molly about my predicament.

Biting down onto my lower lip, I began to pace back and forth in front of the entrance to the tower. Tilting my head back and forth, I considered the pros and the cons of going up to talk to my cousin. The biggest pro was that it would get Lily off my back and ensure that she wouldn't enrage anyone else in the family. The biggest con was that I would actually have to admit to someone else that I had a thing for Scorpius Malfoy. Knowing Molly, she would actually encourage my having a relationship with Scorpius and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. In all honesty, I didn't think I really wanted to actually start a relationship with Scorpius. What I really wanted was someone to talk me out of my crush.

I threw my hands up in frustration and turned on my heel, away from the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower. I was just going to have to call Lily on her bluff, as there was no way I was talking to Molly about this. Just as I was about to walk off, I heard a familiar voice call my name. Closing my eyes I held in a groan.

With a sigh, I turned around and gave Nathaniel a weak smile, "Hello Nathaniel."

Nathaniel smiled and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Waiting for someone?" He slowly shifted his weight from foot to foot. No doubt he was hoping that I had been waiting around for him.

"Yes, just waiting for my cousin Molly." I admitted. Considering how awkward I felt at the moment I didn't have it in me to come up with a decent lie. With my luck it just had to be Nathaniel who had come down to witness my mental breakdown.

"Does she uh… know you're waiting for her?" I could tell that Nathaniel was just stalling, as he had a load of books and parchment paper in his arms. No doubt he was on his way to the library.

I was willing to bet several galleons on the fact that he stalling because he wanted to bring up our conversation from the other day.

"Yeah, she's just a slow mover that's all." I lied, letting out a few broken chuckles. Molly had no idea that I was out here waiting to talk to her but I didn't want Nathaniel to volunteer to go up and get her.

"Oh, okay." Nathaniel nodded his head slowly before glancing around. "What happened yesterday?" He finally blurted out. "I mean, you kind of just ran out on me. You were out of the Great Hall so quickly that you nearly gave me whiplash. I've never had a girl react that way after asking them out on a date." Nathaniel made an attempt to keep his tone light and humorous but I could tell that he was a bit hurt.

I should have known that there wouldn't be a way to avoid having this conversation. "Look, Nathaniel…" I pursed my lips and glanced down at my shoes for a few seconds, "I can't go out with you."

Nathaniel frowned, "Why not?" A small, awkward chuckle left his lips, "I thought we had a great time at the ball together."

"Yeah, I did have a good time at the ball. But…" I racked my brain for a more tactful way of expressing myself but, as Nathaniel couldn't take a hint, I was coming up empty. "I don't like you in that way." I admitted, giving him an apologetic look.

Nathaniel's eyes opened wide in shock at my level of bluntness. "Oh." Nathaniel pressed his lips thinly together and nodded his head slowly. "Well, I'll just uh…" Nathaniel glanced over his shoulder at the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower, "I'll go see if Molly's ready." He mumbled, pointing over to the tower entrance before turning around and disappearing into the Ravenclaw tower.

"Great." I muttered under my breath, annoyed that my hand was being forced. There was a part of me that felt bad for having to be so blunt with Nathaniel, but the poor guy didn't seem capable of taking a hint. Perhaps I needed to work on some of my social graces.

Within a few minutes, the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower opened up once more and out came Molly. Upon seeing her I sighed and gave her a half-hearted smile. The entrance closed up without anyone else stepping out. Nathaniel apparently had, had his fill of Rose Weasley for the day.

"Hey Rosie. Nate told me you were waiting out here for me." Molly smiled broadly at me, her usual pep evident in her tone of voice. She took a few steps forward before stopping a few paces in front of where I had sat down against the wall.

"Yeah." I picked myself up off of the floor and brushed the back of my skirt. I wasn't looking forward to this conversation but now that I had been forced into it, I might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. "Can we go somewhere else? It's kind of private."

Molly looked surprised at my request but nonetheless she nodded in agreement, "Sure, sure. There's an old classroom downstairs that no one ever uses. We can use that, unless you'd prefer to go up to my dormitory but there are a few girls studying up there."

"Downstairs is fine."

Molly nodded her head and began to lead the way. As we made the short walk to the abandoned classroom I tried to think of the best way to start the conversation. In all honesty, that task was made harder by the fact that I didn't want to hear what Molly was going to say. I wanted someone to tell me how awful Scorpius was and how a relationship between the two of us would never work out. Molly would never give me that. After all, she was dating his best friend for Merlin's sake.

"Here we are." Molly announced with a small smile as we reached our destination. Upon stepping into the classroom I couldn't help but remark how clean it was for a room that was supposedly abandoned. I had the feeling that a number of Ravenclaws often turned this area into a study space.

While I had been observing our surroundings, Molly had made herself comfortable at one of the desks. With a small smile on her face, she watched me and waited for me to sit down.

"So, what's this about Rosie?" Molly questioned, genuine curiosity in her voice. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to help, I'm just wondering what it is that I can help you with that Lily couldn't." A short laugh followed Molly's words, indicating that there was no ill will in her statement. The entire family knew that out of all the cousins, I was closest to Lily.

"Actually, Lily sent me to you." I admitted, unhappy about having to do so.

Molly's eyebrows shot up, her curiosity seemingly multiplied by my revelation. "Well, out with it then Rosie. This has got to be good." An uncharacteristically sly smirk found its way onto Molly's face as she waited for me to speak.

Sighing, I sat down and crossed my legs. I soon took to adjusting my skirt in order to stall.

"You know, I don't really know why Lily sent me to you," I began, speaking more to myself than to Molly, "I mean, I have an idea but it's absurd of her really. She expects you to tell me how easy it was for you so that I can emulate your behavior." As I spoke I began to motion wildly with my hands. Rather than looking at Molly, I largely avoided her gaze and chose to stare at my feet.

Molly leaned forward and furrowed her brows as she tried to understand exactly what it was that I was saying. Biting her lip, Molly was silent for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders, shook her head and sat up again. "I give up." She proclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I have no idea what you're talking about Rosie."

Hearing this, I finally looked up at Molly. Sighing, I dropped my shoulders. "Lily wants me to talk to you about how I fancy Scorpius Malfoy." I blurted out.

Molly's eyes opened wide in shock at my announcement. Molly was silent for several minutes so, the silence having made me uncomfortable, I stood up and began pacing the room.

"Well… uh… that's great Rosie." Molly finally replied. She was so unsure of her words however that it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"No, Molly!" I exclaimed, "It's not great!" I could feel myself becoming more and more agitated as the words left my lips, and the more agitated I became the more I began to pace. "For one, I don't even know how this happened. He's such an arrogant prick. Half of the time that I'm with him I just want to wring his neck." For good measure I grabbed at the air and shook my hands. "Secondly, there's no chance that he feels the same way and I don't want to spend my last few months at Hogwarts pining over the most sarcastic, arrogant, spoiled, oversexed guy in this school!"

Finally having finished, I stopped my pacing and threw my hands up in despair. Taking a deep breath I turned on my heel and looked at Molly.

My cousin raised both of her brows and bit her lip. I could see the corners of her lips pulling upwards. I narrowed my eyes at Molly, pursing my lips in annoyance. A moment later Molly glanced down at the floor, making it clear that she was trying to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

"What could possibly be funny Molly?" I despaired.

"Rosie, how do you know Scorpius doesn't feel the same way?" After my outburst, Molly's calm tone was disconcerting.

"Oh, he made it quite clear that our friendship took a backseat to proving to his housemates that he's a true Slytherin." I practically spat out the words, making no effort to disguise my bitterness.

Hearing this, Molly's amused expression vanished and her face wore a look that was a cross between confusion and surprise. "What?" Her voice was so low that it was practically a whisper.

As I recalled the conversation I had, had with Scorpius the other day I could feel the color creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. "He's been ignoring me because his housemates made it clear to him that they thought we were spending too much time together. They questioned his _loyalties._"

Pursing her lips, Molly glanced off to the side for a second. She soon let out a large sigh and stood up, crossing the room so that she could come to stand next to me. "I'm sure he'll get over it Rosie." She threw me a smile as she playfully bumped my shoulder with hers. "Just because he's behaving poorly doesn't mean that he doesn't fancy you. In my opinion he cares for you quite a lot. He just hasn't fully accepted that yet."

Rolling my eyes, I glanced at Molly out of the corners of my eyes. My skepticism was written all over my face.

"Trust me Rosie, I have a feeling about this." Molly threw an arm around my shoulders and drew me to her side. "After all, I am dating a Slytherin." She stated, feigning an air of superiority.

With a laugh, I shook my head. "There's a huge difference between Scorpius and Emmanuel. Emmanuel has loads more common sense than Scorpius does."

Molly threw her head back and laughed before looking at me. "I was going to go with the fact that Emmanuel was slightly taller than Scorpius, but I guess that, that works too."

The two of us looked at each other and shared a few moments of laughter. I didn't believe in Molly's 'feeling' but talking to her had relieved some of my previous anxiety.

Sighing, I turned away from Molly and looked at the opposite wall. "Even if what you say is true Molly, can you imagine what the family would say if I showed up at Christmas dinner with Scorpius Malfoy as my date?" Arching a brow, I turned my head to look at my cousin once more.

Molly considered the idea and wrinkled her nose. "I guess we'd just have to lock Uncle Ron in the basement for that first introduction."

With a nod of her head Molly attempted to demonstrate that her suggestion was entirely serious. A few moment later however, the two of us burst into hysterics.

_Scorpius_

The books I had been using for my History of Magic project were spread out all over my desk in piles. Papers littered the floor next to me and there were a few empty ink wells directly at my feet. I had practically locked myself in my dormitory for the past twenty-four hours in an effort to make sure that both my paper and my presentation were flawless.

The door to the room was suddenly flung open. I couldn't help but jump, as the silence I had been so accustomed to was broken. Glancing over my shoulder I saw Emmanuel rushing into the room. "Merlin's beard mate. You startled me."

Emmanuel glanced over at my desk and started to laugh. "Sorry about that." A curt nod followed his apology as he walked over to his bed and began to rummage through his nightstand. "I didn't expect you to be working in here."

Though the statement seemed innocent enough, from the tone of voice Emmanuel was using I could tell that he was fishing for information.

"Well, this is my dormitory too, isn't it?" I stated simply as I continued writing. If Emmanuel wanted information he was going to have to come out and be blunt about it.

With a chuckle, Emmanuel shut the drawer on his nightstand and stood up. "Yes, it is. You've just spent most of your time in the library lately, that's all."

"Yes well, that is generally where people go to do their work." I could sense Emmanuel becoming frustrated with me but I wasn't enjoying his attempt at outwitting me.

"So, why aren't you there now?" Emmanuel shoved his hands into his trouser pockets as he stood off to the side of my desk. "You and Rose Weasley get into a fight? Did she finally come out and call you out for being an obnoxious know it all?" Emmanuel teased, ending his question with a hearty laugh.

Despite the fact that Emmanuel was joking, he had managed to remind me of the heated words I had shared with Rose the other day. My hand stopped moving across the parchment for a brief moment and that second of hesitation revealed to my friend that he had in fact hit the nail on the head.

"So, you and Rose really did get into a fight." Emmanuel sighed, leaning back onto his heels.

As the words processed, I cleared my throat and went back to my writing, "No we did not." I lied coolly. "We simply had a difference of opinion." I wrinkled my nose in confusion. It was baffling to me why Rose couldn't understand why house loyalty was so important to me.

"About what?"

As I turned my head to look at Emmanuel I noticed that he was looking at me through narrowed eyes, staring me down.

The manner in which Emmanuel was rattling off his questions made me feel as if I was being interrogated. Not one to enjoy being backed into a corner I soon became very defensive. "Nothing important. Besides, the disagreement is between Rose and myself and so I don't see any need for you to involve yourself."

Hearing this, Emmanuel groaned and threw his head back so he could go look up at the ceiling. "Now I know for sure that you've gone and done something incredibly stupid." With a shake of his head, Emmanuel looked at me, giving me a pointed stare. "Listen mate, you've finally found an attractive girl who is on your intellectual level and who you can stand to be in a room with for more than ten minutes. Don't ruin that over something petty." Emmanuel pointed his index finger at me before turning around and heading towards the door.

"Ruin what?" I exclaimed indignantly, turning in my chair. "Just because I enjoy her company doesn't mean I have romantic feelings for her!"

Emmanuel opened the door to the dormitory and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you are the one who assumed I was referring to a romantic relationship. I wasn't specific, I could have been referring to your friendship with her. Funny that your brain should immediately go there." Without giving me a chance to reply Emmanuel stepped out and slammed the door shut behind him.


	27. two to tango

**a/n: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this one up. I had serious writers block... but that's over now! This chapter is a bit shorter than my usual but I hope you all like it nonetheless. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/favorited this story! It really is a warm fuzzy feeling to see that people like this story! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: disclaimed.  
**

"Rose, what are you still doing in bed?"

Hearing the query, I rolled over onto one side and peeled an eye open to see Emily standing over my bed, peering down at me. With a groan as my only reply, I pulled my comforter up to my neck and rolled back onto my stomach.

Emily snorted and began to laugh at my behavior. "Don't you have class soon?"

"Yes." I mumbled my reply into my pillow.

There was a pause in the dialogue as Emily considered my words. Part of me hoped that she would leave me alone and stop questioning my behavior but I knew that, that wasn't going to happen.

"Rose…" Emily began slowly and with trepidation, "Are you going to class?"

"Nope." I mumbled in a very matter of fact tone of voice.

"Are you ill?"

"Nope."

Once again, silence followed my response. Though my back was to her, I could practically see Emily's stunned expression. Rose Weasley did not skip class unless she was seriously ill and that was a fact of life.

"Then…" Emily's voice trailed off as she thought better about what she was about to say. "Never mind. Have a nice nap I suppose." With that Emily left my bedside in order to get ready for her own class. There was no doubt in my mind that Lily would be hearing about this before she made it out of the Gryffindor tower.

With a sigh, I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. If anyone were to ask I was simply going to tell them that I was too exhausted to go to class today. Seeing as how it was the end of an essay filled week, it was a perfectly plausible explanation. Well, for most everyone else at least. The idea that I, Rose Weasley, was too tired to go to class was unthinkable to most people. I guess that's what I got after being so driven all these years.

The truth was that I did have a reason for not wanting to get up and go to History of Magic. However, it was far more absurd than exhaustion and, as such, I had no intention of sharing it with anyone. Rolling my eyes at my own behavior, I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes so that I could pretend to be asleep until everyone else had left the dorm.

It took about half an hour, but eventually all of the other girls left and I had the dormitory to myself. With a sigh, I pulled myself out of bed in an attempt to make myself presentable for the day. While I was probably just going to lay about reading until tonight's trivia practice I couldn't very well stay in bed all day. That would just make me feel worse about myself than I already did. Now that the dorm was empty however, I could move about freely without having to worry about someone asking me why I wasn't going to class.

Privacy being as elusive as it was in the dormitory, I took my sweet time getting ready. Being able to get ready without having to worry about potentially being in someone's way was so thoroughly enjoyable that I almost forgot to feel guilty about skipping class. Nevertheless, there was still a small nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. Clearly, I was not one to be comfortable with shirking my academic responsibilities. I shuddered at the thought of what my mother would say.

After having made myself presentable, I grabbed a book off of my desk and began to make my way towards the common room. The book I had chosen for the day was the autobiography of an auror who had lived during the time of Gellert Grindelwald and I was actually very excited to finally have the opportunity to read it.

I inwardly did a little dance of joy when I finally reached the empty common room. I plopped myself down onto the couch with a smile on my face and began to read.

It was halfway through chapter four that I heard a creak on the stairs coming from the boy's dormitory. Though dismayed that I would potentially have to share the common room, I wasn't particularly concerned. Any one of the Gryffindor boys was about as likely to question my skipping class as they were to turn in their Potions essays early.

Once the creaking noise had abated I returned to my book. Though I was trying my hardest to concentrate on the words in front of me, I had the sinking feeling that whoever had just come down the stairs was currently peering over my shoulder. Picking my head up, I stared straight ahead in an attempt to get whoever was being creepy to announce themselves.

"You know, in civilized society it's considered rude to just breathe down someone's neck." I quipped before glancing over my shoulder to see who on earth had nothing better to do. As my eyes landed on Frank's face I groaned inwardly. I hadn't spoken to Frank for a week, ever since I had acted like a complete and utter fool in front of him at the ball. I had been meaning to apologize to him but I hadn't gotten around to it.

"Oh really?" Frank questioned, feigning surprise. "Well, I guess I'll just have to work on my manners then." Frank walked around the couch and sat down at the other end.

"I guess so." A small smile tugged at my lips as I warily watched him out of the corners of my eyes. As it had been a week since my outburst at the ball I wasn't sure if I still ought to apologize. Perhaps Frank had forgotten all about it.

After Frank had sat down however, there was a lull in the conversation. As such, I figured that I might as well apologize and get it over with. "Listen, Frank, I just want to say that-" Before I could finish, Frank held his hand up and cut me off.

"I know what you're about to say Rosie and it's fine. You may not have done it in the best way but I know that you were just trying to look out for me. We've been friends for our whole lives and it's actually kind of endearing that you're so protective of me." A curt nod and a broad smile followed Frank's words.

I exhaled sharply, letting out a breath of air I hadn't even been aware of holding. "Thanks Frank." I replied, smiling at him.

Frank nodded his head, "Not a problem Rosie. Besides, I'm so ridiculously good looking that it would have been impossible for you not to get jealous." Frank stretched his arms out, puffing out his chest. He managed to keep a straight face for about a second before letting out a deep laugh.

In response, I rolled my eyes dramatically, "Oh, what girl wouldn't" For good measure, I chucked my book at his head.

With a laugh Frank caught the book and feigned a disapproving look. "Rosie, violence isn't the answer."

"You're impossible." I muttered, reaching out and snatching my book out of Frank's hands. "Though now that you've forgiven me and all, I would like to make a request."

Tilting his head to the side, Frank threw me a curious look, "And that would be?"

"No specifics whatsoever. All I want to know from you about your relationship with Adeline is whether things are going well, or whether things are going poorly. If things are going well, I'll be happy for you. If they're going poorly, I'll hex her into oblivion. But I don't like her enough to be able to stomach specifics." Frank was perfectly capable of handling his own business but I still thought that Adeline was far beneath him.

Frank sighed and nodded his head, "Very well. I think I can deal with that."

"Good." A quick nod followed on my part. For a few seconds I remained silent in an attempt to prompt Frank to give me the general status update of his relationship. When he didn't I let out an exasperated sigh, "Well?"

"Well what?" Frank responded with a frown.

"Well, how's it going? Good or bad?"

"Oh, right." Frank laughed at his own oblivious behavior before responding, "It's going quite well so far."

While part of me was thoroughly disgusted, I kept a smile on my face. "Very good then."

Frank narrowed his eyes at me for a second, waiting for any other sort of reaction. When I didn't give him anything but a smile he relaxed his expression. For a moment, Frank kept his eyes on me before taking in his surroundings. As he took note of the fact that we were the only two people in the common room, realization seemed to wash over him. A sinking feeling hit me in the gut and I hoped that he wouldn't ask the dreaded question.

"Rosie, " Frank began, turning his head to look at me once more, "What are you doing down here?"

I pressed my lips thinly together, "Reading."

Frank rolled his eyes at me and gave me a pointed look. Frank was one of the few people that I felt uncomfortable lying to, and it always showed.

"You know exactly what I mean."

Instead of replying to Frank I merely shrugged my shoulders, feigning ignorance.

With a shake of his head, Frank decided that he would play along for now. "What are you doing down here in the common room? Don't you have class at this hour?" Frank clarified before rethinking his approach, "I'm not even going to give you the opportunity to deny that. I know you have class at this hour."

Annoyed, I blinked at Frank silently for a few moments. Pursing my lips, I looked off to the side in an attempt to get away from Frank's judgmental gaze.

"Rose, why aren't you in class?" Frank asked, nudging my arm with his elbow.

"I'm tired, that's all." My voice had taken on a whining tone. Though I was lying, I was annoyed by the fact that people couldn't seem to accept the fact that I was not in class today.

Frank began to laugh and I rolled my eyes before turning my gaze onto his face. As our eyes met Frank gave me a skeptical look, "No, really Rosie. What's wrong with you?"

I bit down onto my lips and inhaled sharply through my nose. I could feel the frustration bubbling in stomach and slowly spreading out through my body. "Fine!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. "I'm not in class right now because I don't want to sit at a desk and watch Scorpius Malfoy babble on about his research project and how he thinks he's so much better than everyone else. Which, you know, is a pile of rubbish because he's not."

Following my outburst I glanced over at Frank and upon seeing the shocked expression on his face, I immediately began to feel the color creep up into my face. I was suddenly very embarrassed by my rant and I quickly looked away from Frank.

The common room was silent for a few seconds before Frank finally cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "You've never had a problem with being in the same class as Scorpius before Rosie. I thought you two were getting along really well now."

Hearing this, I could feel my nostrils flare out in frustration. "Nope" I replied, popping my lips at the end of the word. Though I wasn't looking directly at Frank I could see the confused look on his face out of the corner of my eyes. Frank could look at me with that expression on his face for the rest of his life but I wasn't divulging any more information.

It took a minute or two, but Frank finally realized that I was done talking. "Alright then!" He exclaimed, slapping his palm on the couch before standing up. "Let's go."

Turning my head to look at him, I raised a brow. "Where?" Trivia practice wasn't for another two hours and I had no desire to show up to the end of History of Magic.

"Let's go out onto the Quidditch pitch. We haven't been flying since the first challenge and I kind of miss it."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but smile. Because we didn't have a regular Quidditch season this year I missed flying quite a bit. "Sounds good." I stood up and let Frank throw his arm around my shoulders. At least my relationship with Frank was back to the way it was supposed to be.

_Scorpius_

It was ten minutes past five o'clock and yet we were still missing two members of the Slythindor trivia team. Gritting my teeth I began to drum my fingers against the wooden table. Furrowing my brows, I turned my head to the right in an attempt to catch the attention of Lily Potter. She was sitting a few seats away from me engaged in a rather animated conversation. My nostrils flared in frustration over the fact that I wouldn't be able to grab her attention in a subtle way.

"Lily Potter!" I called out, leaning forward across the table.

Lily arched a brow and turned her head slowly to look at me. "Yes?" A surprised expression accompanied her query.

"Where is she?" It was not like Rose to be late and this, coupled with the fact that she had missed my presentation in History of Magic, had me rather worried. Though I was doing my best to act more annoyed than concerned.

Lily frowned in confusion, unsure of whom exactly I was referring to. However, after glancing around for a second realization swept over her face. Turning her attention back towards me Lily shrugged her shoulders before going back to her conversation.

The ease with which Lily had brushed off my concern threw me off. This was entirely out of character for Rose and I was baffled by the fact that I seemed to be the only one showing any concern. It was my belief that Rose and I had an understanding, I would give her a hard time about her work and she would return the favor. Today she had failed to uphold her end of the bargain and I couldn't begin to understand why. Yes, the two of us had recently gotten into a fight but that wasn't exactly new for us.

Shaking my head, I did my best to push my concern to the back of my mind. Rose was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Besides, there was nothing I could do to abate my concern at the moment. Not only did I have a trivia practice to lead but if I went out of my way to check up on Rose my housemates would, once again, begin to question my loyalty.

Slowly I stood up, intending to begin the practice without Rose and Longbottom. Just as I was about to announce the course of action for this evening's practice I was interrupted by the sound of laughter in the corridor right outside of the Great Hall. Within a few seconds both Rose and Longbottom stumbled into the Great Hall, carrying their laughter with them.

Instantly I felt my jaw tighten as I glanced at the pair. Both of them were holding their brooms and from the bright pink color in Rose's cheeks it was clear that they had been flying out on the pitch. Rose's hair had come out of its ponytail and she wore a giant grin on her face. I couldn't help but worry that perhaps Rose and Longbottom had become a couple once again. The mere thought repulsed me and I hoped that I was merely being paranoid.

"Nice of you to finally join us Rose." My voice was calm but icy.

Rose's eyes darted over to where I was standing and slowly her smile began to fade. "Not a problem." She quipped sarcastically before coming to stand at my left. Though she was within two inches of me, Rose didn't even glance in my direction after that.

Clearing my throat, I began to announce the schedule for the next couple of hours. For the first time since I had begun to distance myself from Rose I felt isolated from her. Things had been different before our confrontation, when Rose had been persistent about engaging with me. Now that she was ignoring me I realized that I missed my friendship with Rose.

"Okay, we don't have the Great Hall for very long tonight so fourth and fifth years please come with me. Sixth and seventh years, Scorpius will be leading your practice." Rose paused for a second as the fourth and fifth years got up before leading them over to the other side of the Great Hall. I had intended for us to work with each year together but clearly Rose had no desire to be around me at the moment. Frankly, that hurt.


	28. Valentines Day

**Hello, hello! Here's chapter 28! I hope you all enjoy it. A few orders of business:**

**1) So, I've noticed that FF will now allow me to upload photos to serve as "story covers". I was wondering if anyone would be interested in seeing that? I'm not saying that I would be particularly good at making them or anything, but I could try. 2) I tried to respond to everyone who reviewed but for those of you who reviewed on a guest account sorry I couldn't send you a message but - thank you! all the same.  
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**Thanks for all the support! Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: disclaimed.  
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"You know, this really is an awful holiday." I mumbled before shoveling a handful of candy hearts into my mouth. The candy hearts were a gift from Lily who, unlike myself, was out enjoying the holiday. "It's so clearly a ruse to get us all to buy a bunch of stuff."

From across the dormitory Emily laughed, glancing at me through her mirror as she finished getting ready. "That's not what you said last year." She chimed.

"Yes well, that's because I actually had a date on Valentine's Day last year." I threw a few more candy hearts into my mouth before sinking further down into my bed.

"Wouldn't you say you're being a bit hypocritical then?" Emily asked as she started to walk towards, putting in her earrings as she strode across the room. "I didn't have a date last year nor do I have one now but you don't see me sulking in bed."

Hearing this I wrinkled my nose and, in a display of immense immaturity, stuck my tongue out at Emily. "No." Though I was quick to deny it, I knew that Emily was right. This only depressed me further and I reached for the box of chocolates Albus had given me this morning.

"Merlin's beard Rose, stop stuffing yourself with candy." Emily leaned over my bed and quickly snatched the box of chocolates out of my hand. "You'll make yourself sick and then you're really going to be a pain to be around."

"Gee, thanks a lot Emily." Narrowing my eyes I watched Emily intently as she walked the box of chocolates to the other side of the dormitory, placing them on top of her dresser.

"What else are friends for?" She teased with a light laugh.

Sighing I discreetly stuck my hand into the bag of candy hearts and took out as many as I could without drawing Emily's attention. "I suppose I should start getting used to being alone. After all, this is exactly how I will be spending all of my future Valentines." Pretending to yawn I quickly stuffed the candy into my mouth.

Hearing my latest attempt at wallowing, Emily rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "What's gotten into you Rosie?" She questioned. After grabbing a pair of boots from her trunk Emily walked over to the side of my bed and peered down at me.

With a mumble I shrugged my shoulders, "Other than the fact that I have terrible luck with guys, absolutely nothing."

Emily exhaled loudly, unable to hide her frustration with me. "Now what gave you that idea? Just because your last two liaisons didn't work out doesn't mean you have terrible luck with guys, it just means you're normal. Oh dear, alert the Daily Prophet, Rose Weasley has failed to excel in one aspect of her life." Tilting her head, Emily gave me a pointed look.

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated." Though Emily was correct in what she had said, in my mind I was referring to Scorpius. Of all the boys at Hogwarts it was beyond me as to why I had to fall for Scorpius Malfoy. I was especially baffled by the fact that I had come to said realization just when he had started to revert back to his old, loathsome ways.

"Too bad. You needed to hear it." With that, Emily pulled back my covers in one swift motion. As she did so the bag of candy hearts I had hidden came into her line of vision. Pursing her lips Emily grabbed the bag away before I could stop her. "Now get up and change so we can go to Hogsmeade. I may not have a date but I refuse to sit in this tower all day listening to you mope."

Wearing a pout on my face I began to whine. "But I don't want to. You can go without me." If I managed to get Emily out of the tower then I would get to eat all of the chocolate and candy hearts that my stomach could handle.

"And wander around Hogsmeade all by myself on Valentine's Day? Seeing nauseating couples is the last thing I want to endure on my own. Get out of bed and be a good friend Rosie."

Though I had no desire to do what was being asked of me, Emily had pulled the friendship card and so, I had no choice. Blowing a few strands of hair out of my face, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up. "Fine. If my vitriol is what you want to listen to for the rest of the day then so be it. Be careful what you wish for." Tilting my head to the side I gave her a cheeky smile before wandering off to get ready.

"Very good. I'll be waiting out here." Emily grinned and sat down on my bed. As I turned to go into the bathroom I saw her pop a few of my candy hearts into her mouth.

Three outfits and two hairstyles later I found myself wandering the streets of Hogsmeade with Emily by my side. Seeing as how Emily had made me change so many times, by the time we made it out of the castle it was already well past noon. This meant that the nauseating couples were out in full force.

"Well, they're going to last another two weeks." I muttered as two wide-eyed fifth years waltzed past Emily and I. The girl was trying to force feed her date some sort of pastry while the boy playfully refused. I watched them intently as they walked ahead of us and before they had gotten even ten feet in front of, the boy gave in and took a bite of the pastry.

"Oh come now Rosie, they were cute." Emily chided, a smile pulling at her lips as she tried to suppress a laugh.

Wrinkling my nose I turned to Emily and gave her a look of disbelief. My actions only caused her burst into giggles.

"You really are uncharacteristically cynical today." Emily remarked.

"Yes, well…" I trailed off with a shrug of my shoulders. As I refused to let Scorpius see that I was hurt by our fractured relationship this was my method of coping. "You can't say that I didn't warn you before we left the tower."

"This is true. I guess I got what I asked for."

The two of us ducked into Spintwitches, having decided that a bit of shopping would help lift our spirits.

"So, how are the trivia practices going?" Emily asked as the two of us thumbed through the rows and rows of chasers equipment.

Hearing her question I paused for a second, allowing my face to fall into a frown. "Not well." I admitted somewhat bitterly before I resumed my browsing.

This time it was Emily's turn to freeze up. "Really?" She questioned, evidently surprised by my answer. "But we did so well on the last two challenges."

I sighed heavily, "True, but that's because Scorpius and I managed to get along for the last two challenges. Our relationship has taken a turn for the worse lately." My friendship with Scorpius had been a key factor in the success the Slythindor team had enjoyed over the past couple of months. Our friendship had pushed the two houses closer together, but now that we weren't getting along things seemed to be ripping apart at the seems. With a sigh I shrugged my shoulders and picked up a set of black, leather chasers gloves.

"I'm sorry to hear that Rosie, I know how well you two were getting along. What happened?" Emily pursed her lower lip, shooting me a sympathetic look.

For a few seconds I considered whether or not I ought to tell Emily what was going on. Lily and Molly were the only two people who knew of the fight I had, had with Scorpius. As I mulled it over I realized that it would be unfair to keep Emily out of the loop. After all, I considered her to be one of my good friends and perhaps she would be able to offer another perspective on the situation.

"Do you remember how I told you that Scorpius started ignorning me right before the ball?" I asked, trying to refresh her memory.

"Yeah."

"Well, I bumped into him the day after the ball and I wound up confronting him about it." I thought back to the fight as we made our way to the front of the store to pay for our items. "Turns out that my friendship with Scorpius didn't sit well with some of his housemates and they started to question his loyalties." I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I told the story.

"Wait, so he started acting like a prat because his idiot housemates didn't want him being friends with you?" Emily's tone of voice was heavy with disbelief.

"Pretty much." I grumbled, pursing my lips as I nodded slowly, soaking in the absurdity of the situation.

After handing over the appropriate number of galleons I grabbed the bag holding my purchases and waited for Emily by the door.

"That is most definitely one of the more idiotic things I have ever heard." Emily remarked as we left the store and once more began to wander about the town. "Though this does explain why you're been in such a foul mood today."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I questioned, indignantly. I resented the fact that Emily had noticed that my fight was Scorpius was effecting me.

"Exactly what it sounds like Rosie. You're in such a lousy mood today because of your falling out with Scorpius."

"That is most certainly not true!" I exclaimed. "Scorpius Malfoy is having no affect on my mood." Even a blind man would have been able to tell that I was lying through my teeth.

Emily rolled her eyes and gave me a sideways glance, "Oh come off it Rose. It makes perfect sense. You fancy Scorpius and so now that it's Valentine's Day you're in a foul mood because you two are no longer getting along."

As Emily's words drifted to my ears I stopped dead in my tracks. It took Emily a few moments but she soon realized that I was no longer at her side. She too soon stopped and turned around to look at me. "What are you doing?" She questioned from a few paces in front of me.

"What did you just say?" I questioned. I had, had no intention of telling Emily that I liked Scorpius in that way and I was baffled as to how she had come to that conclusion. The more people who knew that I liked Scorpius the greater the chance that it would get back to Albus and Hugo.

"Stop it Rosie, you know exactly what I said." Annoyed by my behavior Emily tried to urge me to continue walking.

"Why would you say such a thing?" I did my best to feign a look of innocence as I resumed walking alongside Emily.

"Because it's astonishingly obvious, that's why."

"Who told you?" I demanded, turning my head to the right so that I could look at Emily. I wasn't buying the idea that she had come to this conclusion on her own.

"No one!" She insisted.

"Who was it?"

"Okay fine. Lily told me." Emily finally relented.

"I knew it." I mumbled under my breath, displeased. My cousin was sure to get an earful tonight.

"Please don't be mad at Lily, Rose!" Emily pleaded, turning her upper body towards me. "It's not as if it was some big, indiscernible secret. I was starting to figure it out on my own anyway. You're not particularly adept at concealing this sort of thing."

"I resent that." I mumbled with a frown.

"Cue my speech about it being breaking news that Rose Weasley isn't perfect at every little thing."

Emily threw me a smirk and I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone else."

"Not a soul, I promise."

"Thanks."

"Though, what are you going to do about it?" Emily asked as we quickly ducked into Honeydukes for something warm to drink on this frosty February day.

"About what? My situation with Scorpius?" I whispered, carefully eyeing my surroundings. Emily nodded, signaling that, that was in fact what she had been referring to.

"I don't know." I replied honestly with a shrug of my shoulders. "Nothing I guess."

"Nothing?" Emily exclaimed incredulously. "You're not going to do a single thing about it?" Though Emily's tone of voice had risen several octaves it wasn't as if anyone in the shop knew what she was referring to.

"Nope, I don't think so." I took a sip of my tea and quietly considered the situation for a minute. "There really isn't any _to_ do considering his present behavior. I have absolutely no desire to make a fool out of myself by admitting my feelings to him. If we were still on good terms with each other, well, then I would have something to consider." At this point I was almost thankful that Scorpius and I weren't speaking to one another. I couldn't even imagine what I would have done had we still been spending all of that time together.

"Rose, you can't just sit around and do nothing. That's not like you at all." Emily urged as we left Honeydukes. "You two would be absolutely wonderful together."

Hearing this I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "For some reason I highly doubt that." In my mind a romantic relationship with Scorpius would be full of knock down, drag out verbal fights.

As we walked on I could see Molly and Emmanuel up ahead. "Speaking of wonderful together…" I trailed off, pointing towards the back of Molly's head, grateful for the opportunity to change the subject.

"Molly!" I called out, hoping that she would be able to hear me and subsequently save me from Emily's questions.

Molly heard my call and she spun around on her heel, turning to face me. As her eyes landed on me a broad smile stretched out over her face, putting her sparkling whites on display.

"Rosie!" She exclaimed happily, waving me over.

As I took a step towards where Molly and Emmanuel were standing, something caught my eye. Through the gap now present between Molly and Emmanuel I could very clearly see Scorpius standing in front of Emmanuel. I instantly thought better of going over to chat with the happy couple.

"On second thought, why don't we finish our shopping first?" I pleaded of Emily, grabbing her wrist in an attempt to stop her forward progress.

Emily stopped walking and turned her head towards me, a frown on her face. "What? Why?" She questioned, confused by my sudden change in demeanor. Emily turned her head back to look towards Molly and in that moment she spotted the reason for my apprehension.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Emily muttered under her breath. "Come on, we're going over there." Emily put her hand on my back and gently pushed me forward.

"No Emily, please." I begged, not wanting to deal with Scorpius today. Scorpius was such a mixed bag of emotions for me that I didn't want to pile that on to the animosity I was already feeling towards Valentine's Day.

"Oh hush up." Emily muttered out of the side of her mouth. "You're not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that you're uncomfortable around him."

Though I continued to grumble, I knew that Emily was right. Avoiding Scorpius would just give him the upper hand in this situation. So, upon coming up to where Molly was standing I plastered a smile on my face and inhaled sharply through my nose.

"Hi guys," I greeted, trading glances with both Molly and Emmanuel. However, I refused to look Scorpius in the eye. I was more than content to watch him peer at me out of the corners of my eyes.

"Hi Rosie!" Molly greeted cheerfully, extending an arm to give me a sideways hug. "Emmanuel and I were just asking Scorpius how your trivia preparations were going."

Hearing this I bit my bottom lip to refrain from grimacing. Like I had told Emily, Slythindor preparations for the trivia challenge were not going particularly well. In fact, they were hardly going at all. The challenge was only two weeks away and so far we had only had one practice during the month of February. Seeing as how Scorpius and I were no longer on speaking terms, scheduling practice times had become extremely difficult. Frank had, had to go through Adeline to schedule the last one.

"Why do you ask Molly?" I questioned, focusing my gaze onto my cousin. "You're not trying to see what the competition is up to are you?" I teased, giving her a lopsided smirk. "Playing dirty against your own family is generally frowned upon in civilized society."

Both Molly and Emmanuel started to laugh and I could have sworn that I even saw Scorpius crack a smile.

Molly held up her hands, "You got me Rosie. Very well, you don't have to tell me anything. I know when I've been beat."

Smiling at Molly, I let my eyes wander away from her face for a moment. As they did so, I found Scorpius looking at me rather intently. I let my eyes meet his and despite my pounding heart and churning stomach I kept his gaze locked. In the back of my mind I was challenging myself, trying to see just how long I could stare at Scorpius before I simply couldn't take it any longer. I wanted to know that I was strong enough to face him head on, despite the fact that my amorous feelings were unrequited.

A couple of seconds went by and then a few more. I could hear Emily strike up another topic of conversation with Molly and Emmanuel but I didn't look away. Despite the fact that I was practically torturing myself I wasn't ready to give up. This little challenge to myself had now evolved into a challenge for Scorpius. I hoped that by challenging him in this way I would be able to get him to come to some sort of realization. I wanted to get him to realize that he had done something wrong, that he had hurt me and that he needed to make things right.

My desire to make Scorpius see reason wasn't even about my romantic feelings for him. I knew that Scorpius and I wouldn't make it as a couple and I had no intentions of revealing my true sentiments. However, I missed him terribly as a friend. I missed the witty retorts and the sarcastic comments, I missed our long winded intellectual discussions and all of the times we would bounce ideas off of each other until it got so late that we had to be kicked out of the library. Put simply I missed being around him and I just wanted that back.

Eventually, Scorpius looked away. Perhaps that signaled that I had made some sort of impact on him; that I had made a dent in the façade he was putting up. Or, perhaps, I was kidding myself and he had merely gotten sick of the staring contest I had challenged him to. Either way, the fact that I hadn't been the first one to flinch constituted a small, personal victory.

"What about you Rosie? Have you heard anything?" Molly asked as she gently brushed my shoulder.

Realizing that I had been tuning everyone out all of this time, I panicked. Turning my head towards my cousin I smiled, "About what exactly? I seem to have spaced out a bit." I laughed, "Long night." I added apologetically.

"We were trading stories about all of the fourth challenge speculations we've heard." Emmanuel piped up, a bemused smile playing across his lips. Though he was addressing me I took note of the fact that his eyes were firmly plastered on Scorpius' face, as if he was examining his friend.

"Oh, well, I haven't heard any amusing ones." To be honest, I hadn't heard any at all. The Slythindor trivia team was so far behind in prepping for the trivia challenge that we simply couldn't afford to look any further.

"What about you mate? You hear anything worth sharing?" Emmanuel asked of Scorpius, turning his body to face his friend.

Scorpius frowned and shook his head, "Nothing at all." He replied sounding quite bored with the conversation. It was either that or he had also spaced out at some point.

"Well, I've heard some really preposterous ones. One of the girls in Hufflepuff, well, she…"

Molly was cut short when Emmanuel reached out his hand and placed it on her back, "Would you mind terribly if we took a rain check on sharing these stories?" He asked of Molly, as well as of the rest of us. "We have a reservation to get to." Emmanuel smiled, clearly happy that he could say that.

"Not at all. You two crazy kids have fun." Emily chimed, waving off the pair.

Molly and Emmanuel took their leave and before I knew it I was standing in front of Scorpius with just Emily at my side.

For a few seconds I merely stood there, my feet glued to the floor by the sheer awkwardness of the situation. Finally, I came to my senses and I cleared my throat, "Well, best be off then." I mumbled as I widened my eyes at Emily in an attempt to give her some sort of hint.

With a curt nod in Scorpius' direction I walked straight past him with Emily at my side. Every muscle in my body tensed up as I brushed Scorpius' shoulder.

"Rose!"

I had only made it a few feet before I heard Scorpius call my name. My heart jumped up into my throat and I inhaled sharply through my nose. In that split second before I turned around part of me believed that my stare down had worked, that I had in fact knocked some sense into him.

"Yes?" I questioned, spinning around on my heel to look at him.

Scorpius hesitated with his mouth half open. It looked at if he knew exactly what he wanted to say but just couldn't get the words out.

Frowning, I took a step in his direction. "What is it?" Though I had intended for my tone of voice to be harsh and demanding the words came out softer and more inquisitive.

Again, Scorpius hesitated. He glanced off to the side before frowning and clearing his throat. "Nothing really. I just thought that we might want to schedule another practice session for the trivia team. The challenge is in two week and we're pretty far behind on our outlined material."

My heart, which had previously been sitting in my throat, plummeted into my stomach. While I had been hopeful a few seconds ago I now found myself feeling even more animosity towards Scorpius than I had this morning. "Why don't we have one on Saturday?" I suggested impatiently, crossing my arms over my chest.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes quickly, as if my reaction surprised him. "I was thinking more along the lines of tomorrow."

"I can't." I said simply, with a shake of my head. "I'm busy." In reality I had absolutely nothing to do but go to class and do homework but it was probably for the best that I gave myself some time to cool down after this conversation. Otherwise there was a high probability of me pointing my wand at one of Scorpius' housemates.

Scorpius didn't say anything right away and I got the feeling that he was tempted to ask me what exactly it was that I was so busy with tomorrow. However, he thought better of it.

Sighing, Scorpius nodded his head, "Very well. Saturday it is. Noon?"

"Very well." I replied, mimicking him. Not giving Scorpius the chance to say another word I turned around and walked away from him.

As I walked off I felt like screaming with frustration. Though I wanted to slap Scorpius clear across the face I was still head over heels for the Scorpius of three weeks ago. No one person had ever made me feel so conflicted in my entire life.


	29. trivial pursuit

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me two weeks to get this up but it's a long AND important chapter. A lot of you missed Scorpius' POV in the last chapter so I've included a good amount of Scorpius in this one! Hope you all like it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited, etc. Please keep reviewing - I love reading what you have to say.**

**Disclaimer: disclaimed.  
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A series of loud groans erupted from the Slythindor side of the Great Hall. The 6th year Slythindor trivia team had missed yet another question, putting them thirty points behind the Ravenpuff 6th years. At this rate we were sure to loose this challenge. Our fourth years had won their round by twenty points but it had been all down hill after that. The fifth years had lost their round by ten points and now the sixth years were digging us into a huge point deficit.

"Now for the final question." Announced the headmistress.

Biting down onto my lower lip I pinched the bridge of my nose. Every muscle in my body tensed up as I waited to hear the final question. I hoped that the 6th years would be able to get this last question right. That way, there would be a slim chance that us 7th years would be able to dig the team out of this gaping hole.

"Who was the owner of the Philosopher's Stone?"

It took all of my willpower to keep from yelling out the answer. As the Slythindor team put their heads together to consult with one another I saw red sparks come from the Ravenpuff side.

"Damn." I grumbled under my breath upon seeing that my cousin Lucy was the culprit. Of course she knew the answer. The entire family knew the answer to that question.

"Nicholas Flamel." She answered calmly, leaning forward onto the table to ensure that she was heard.

"That is correct. Ten points to the Ravenclaw – Hufflepuff team. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff win this round one-hundred and twenty points to eighty." The Headmistress announced the results calmly but I could see from the look on her face that she was displeased. I didn't blame her. As a former Gryffindor she wanted us to win and we were now, on the whole, behind by thirty points in this challenge.

All of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs sitting in the Great Hall erupted in a wave of cheers, whistles and claps. Now that victory was within their reach they were all visibly excited at the prospect of winning their first challenge.

I ran a hand over my face in frustration, watching as clusters of students dispersed throughout the Great Hall. There was a ten-minute break before the seventh year round and I was desperately trying to come up with a winning strategy. We had never anticipated starting the final round this far behind so there was not contingency plan. The seventh year team was solid but winning by more than thirty points seemed impossible against the impressive Ravenpuffs.

Sighing, I turned my head slightly to the right and caught a glimpse of Scorpius. I focused my gaze on him and noticed that he was yelling at two of the defeated 6th years. Inhaling sharply through my nose I tilted my head back and turned my eyes towards the ceiling, wondering what on earth I had done to deserve being placed in this situation.

I understood Scorpius' frustration, but what was done was done and throwing a fit would only discourage those on the receiving end. There was still one last challenge that we needed to conquer and needlessly berating team members would only harm us in the long run.

Sighing, I stood up and weaved through the crowd in order to make my way over to where Scorpius was still laying into the sixth years. As I approached the trio I heard Scorpius repeatedly asking them whether or not they had gone through the outlines we had provided.

"Scorpius, can I borrow you for a second?" I asked coolly, shooting the two mortified students a sympathetic smile.

Frowning, Scorpius turned his head towards me. He seemed surprised to see me standing so close to him and for a moment he hesitated. "Rose, I'm kind of in the middle of something." He finally said. His eyes flitted over to where the two sixth years were standing. The clenched look on his face told me that he was desperately trying to control his temper. Clearly my little interruption didn't sit well with him.

"I can see that but it's urgent." I forced a tight-lipped smile, not wanting to further alarm the already embattled students.

Seeing the insistent look on my face Scorpius let out a long, overly dramatic sigh and nodded his head. "Very well." He mumbled. Turning his head to look at the sixth years Scorpius gave them one last disgusted look before leading me off to the side.

"Alright, was is it Rose?" Scorpius asked. Though his question was demanding, he had significantly softened his tone.

"I needed to get you away from those sixth years. You were really letting them have it." I too had decided to soften my tone. If Scorpius wanted to be civil then I would gladly oblige him.

Scorpius' eyes widened and he blinked at me in astonishment for a few seconds. "Of course I was being hard on them!" Scorpius exclaimed, glancing around as if to make sure this wasn't some sort of joke. "They lost the round by forty points. In all likelihood they just cost us the challenge!"

Frustrated, I shifted my weight. "I know that." I hissed through clenched teeth. I craned my neck towards Scorpius, "But if you're having trouble counting today, let me inform you that this is only the third challenge. There's still one more challenge left after this one. You're not doing us any favors by alienating team members."

From deep within his throat Scorpius let out what sounded like a growl. "So if it was up to you, you would just let them off the hook after that performance? They were embarrassing."

"I would not just let them off the hook!" I exclaimed. "But I most certainly wouldn't deal with it the way you are." I was slowly becoming extremely frustrated with Scorpius. I didn't see why he had to turn this into a full flown discussion.

"See, that's you're problem Rose. You're too soft on people." Scorpius snapped, his nostrils flaring out in anger.

Hearing this, I inhaled sharply through my nose. Instinctively, I was offended by his words. I saw no problem with the reasoned approach I took when dealing with people. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glowered at Scorpius, "Maybe you're right Scorpius. I was clearly too soft on you over the past couple of months and look where that got me." Following the jab I pursed my lips.

Rather than immediately throwing some remark in my face, Scorpius was silent. The hostile look on his face disappeared, his brows furrowed and his lips seemed to turn down into a frown. If I didn't know better I would have sworn that he looked hurt by my comment.

However, I didn't have any more time to examine Scorpius' reaction for, in that moment, the headmistress announced that the final round was about to start. With one last glance at Scorpius I turned on my heel and walked over to the long table that had been set up for the trivia teams at the front of the room.

Taking my seat, I smiled at my teammates. Scorpius eventually found his way over to the table as well, taking the last open seat to my left.

The Ravenpuffs settled down into their seats and I looked at them down the long table. Though I was loathe to admit it, I was feeling a bit nervous. We were in such a point deficit that I didn't know if we had, had enough practice to be able to make it up.

Silence soon befell the Great Hall as everyone settled in to watch the final round. Leaning into my seat I tightened the vice grip on my wand, ready to set off red sparks the second I heard a question I knew the answer to.

"Alright, let's begin." The headmistress stood up and as she readied herself to ask the first question my heart began to race.

"First question. Who was the youngest recorded Animagus?"

Instantly, my mind clicked and I held up my wand, sending up red sparks.

"Yes Miss Weasley."

Leaning forward, I smiled, "Neil Luttrell."

"Correct. Ten points to the Gryffindor – Slytherin team."

Sparse applause broke out in the Great Hall. Letting out a sigh of relief I glanced at my teammates. Everyone looked relieved that we had scored the first ten points, except for Scorpius. Scorpius turned his eyes towards me, jaw clenched. It was then that I remembered that during out last practice we had divvied up the subject matter and that Scorpius had been put in charge of the Transfiguration questions.

I cringed and turned towards Scorpius to offer an apology. Before I could get a single word out however, the headmistress was already preparing to ask the second question. Inwardly, I berated myself for forgetting the way we had divided the material. There was no doubt in my mind that Scorpius perceived my actions as intentional. Especially after the spat we had just had. Now I could only hope that Scorpius wouldn't do something stupid in retaliation.

"Next question. What is the incantation required to reverse a human to animal transfiguration?"

Another transfiguration question. Though I knew the answer I resisted the urge to send up the signal and instead turned my head towards Scorpius to see if he knew the answer. However, I quickly noticed that Scorpius had no intention of speaking up. Scorpius blinked at me and with a sarcastic smile on his face, he waved out his arm in mock invitation. This was exactly the type of stupid stunt I had been afraid he would pull. He was going to avoid answering the question just to get back at me for stealing his thunder.

My eyes widened in shock at his behavior and I quickly whipped my head around towards the front of the room. Just as I was about to raise my wand, red sparks flew up from the Ravenpuff side of the table.

"Aparecium Avifors."

The confident voice caused me to groan audibly.

"Ten points to the Ravenclaw – Hufflepuff team." The headmistress did not sound pleased.

In that moment I was so angry with Scorpius that I couldn't even stand to look at him. I had to fold my hands on the table to keep them from shaking. I couldn't believe that he was willing to risk the team's chance at victory out of spite.

As headmistress McGonagall readied herself to ask the next question I finally glanced over at Scorpius. There wasn't the slightest indication of remorse on his face. Rather, he happened to look quite pleased with himself. As if somehow I was the only one affected by his actions.

"In what year was the statute for underage magic put into full effect?"

General History of Magic. This was one of the areas that I was responsible for and I could answer this question in my sleep. However, as I looked at Scorpius' smug face, something snapped within me. Out of anger I decided that if he wanted to play games then I would be kind enough to give him a partner. He seemed perfectly content to wreak havoc upon the team but I wanted to see how he felt when he wasn't the only one in control.

Pursing my lips I leaned all the way back into my chair, as far away from the table, and my wand as possible. Seeing this, Scorpius' jaw dropped. He was clearly astonished by the fact that I had taken his act of defiance one step further. For a second his eyes flitted over to where his wand was sitting on the table.

The rest of our teammates leaned forward and craned their necks to look at me. Despite the pleading looks they were shooting me I refused to budge. It wasn't long after that, that the Ravenpuff team was able to provide the right answer.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They lead by twenty points to ten."

A few groans were heard from the side of the room where the Slythindors had set up shop, but the loudest groans came from the mouths of the rest of my teammates.

A pang of guilt hit me in the gut and the smug smile I had been shooting Scorpius' way faltered. I wasn't just toying with Scorpius; I was toying with my entire team. If I continued to play Scorpius' game I would have to face the wrath of both houses.

"What was the name of the first non – British Quidditch team to compete in the Quidditch world cup?"

Upon hearing this question, I sat up in my chair and inched slightly closer to the table. Quidditch was Scorpius' second assigned area but there was also a case to be made that the question fell under general History of Magic. Unsure of myself I glanced at Scorpius. I wanted to answer the question and tie the round but part of me didn't want to give into him.

As I looked at Scorpius, he turned his head towards me, an apprehensive look on his face. I would have bet a dozen galleons that he was thinking the same thing I was.

Before either one of us could make up our minds I saw red sparks fly up from the left side of the table.

"The Welsh National Quidditch Team." Frederick Finnigan's deep voice blurted out the answer, breaking the silence from our end of the table.

"That is correct. Ten points to the Gryffindor – Slytherin team."

A collective sigh of relief was heard from the Slythindor side of the room. At least we were tied. I let out the breath I had been holding, glad that Frederick had stepped up and answered the question.

"Hey, you two." Frederick hissed.

I turned my head to the left to see that he was leaning forward on the table, his palms open against the wood as he narrowed his eyes and Scorpius and I.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you two?" In between every other word Frederick would glance over at Headmistress McGonagall to make sure she wasn't about to ask the next question.

"I don't know what is going on between the two of you, but you need to get over it. Now. You're going to cost us the round and the challenge." Frederick's nostrils flared as he spoke and once he was done, he threw us one last disgusted look before leaning back into his chair.

I was completely taken aback by Frederick's chastisement. Frederick and I had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team together for years and I had never seen him this angry before.

Feeling Scorpius' eyes on me, I turned my head to look at him. "Why don't we just deal with this later?" He mumbled, averting my gaze so that we wouldn't make eye contact.

Sighing, I nodded my head in agreement. This was neither the time nor the place for Scorpius and I to work out our frustrations. "Okay."

"In what year was the first Goblin war fought?"

Hearing the question, I reached for my wand. Just as I was about to hold it up, I felt Scorpius nudge my knee with his. I rolled my eyes and kept my attention on the front of the room. I did not need him to remind me that this question was my responsibility.

"Fourteen thirty-two." I responded.

The Headmistress nodded in approval, "Ten points to the Gryffindor – Slytherin team. They lead thirty points to twenty."

Relieved that we were finally back in the lead, I sighed and sat back into my chair. Enthusiastic cheers came from the Slythindor side of the room, expressing their relief that we were finally back in the game.

While it felt good to be in front of the Ravenpuffs, that wasn't enough. We would have to win by more than thirty points in order to win the challenge and, as I shifted in my chair, I couldn't help but think that we would be hard pressed to do so.

Thankfully, Scorpius and I managed to keep our aggressions towards each other at bay for the remainder of the round.

As Scorpius answered another Transfiguration question correctly, a wave of cheers came from the Slythindor side of the room. We had been on a streak lately and everyone was starting to think that we would actually be able to pull of a comeback.

"Every one, settle down please. This will be the final question."

Hearing this, nervous whispers erupted from every corner of the Great Hall. My eyes opened wide in surprise and I turned to my left to look at the other members of my team. We were currently twenty points ahead of the Ravenpuffs and if we got this final question right, we would win the round, tie the challenge, and push it towards a sudden death round. If we failed to answer the next question, well, the Ravenpuffs would win the round and with it, win the challenge.

"Okay everyone, we can do this. If you know the answer, just put up the signal. Don't wait for whoever the subject was assigned to." Frederick whispered as he bounced his leg up and down nervously.

I nodded my head, acknowledging Frederick's words, and prepared myself for the question. There was no doubt in my mind that one of us would know the answer to this final question. The only doubt was whether we had practiced enough to have the answer at the forefront of our minds.

"How many schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry are there in the world?"

My eyes widened and I gripped my wand as I racked my brain for the answer. I could see Scorpius reach for his wand, but he didn't send up any red sparks either. The answer was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't remember whether there were ten or eleven schools. As I racked my brain for the answer I saw red sparks fly up from the Ravenpuff side of the table.

My heart stopped for a second before it began to pound wildly against my chest. I could feel Scorpius tense up beside me. Holding my breath I waited to hear whether or not our winning streak was over.

"There are ten schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the world." The answer came from one of the Hufflepuff boys.

I could feel my hands begin to get clammy as I awaited the Headmistress's response.

"That is correct."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but groan. My heart dropped into my stomach and I closed my eyes in defeat. It felt as if all of the breath had been knocked out of my body. I could hear my teammates groaning in disappointment from my left.

"The Gryffindor - Slytherin team wins the round by ten points with one hundred and ten points to one hundred. The Ravenclaw – Hufflepuff team wins the overall challenge by twenty points."

Though we had won our own round, we hadn't won by enough to make up the point deficit created by our fifth and sixth years.

As uncontrollable cheers erupted from the Ravenpuff side of the room I leaned all the way back into my chair and sank down. From my vantage point I watched as my housemates shook their heads in disappointment, whispering to each other about how close we had been to winning our third straight challenge.

While I didn't like to loose as a general rule, this loss was particularly hard to swallow. Not because I had wanted to win three challenges in a row but because I knew that we had been perfectly capable of pulling off a victory. We were all smart enough to defeat the Ravenpuffs, after all, Scorpius and I had either handpicked or vetted each and every trivia team member.

Biting back tears, I glanced over at Scorpius to see that he looked absolutely gutted. He slowly looked up at me, wearing the same ashamed expression I knew I had on my face. We both knew that the two of us were responsible for this loss. Our power struggle at the beginning of this round had cost us twenty precious points. Those extra twenty points that we had thrown away would have won us the challenge. But even without that show of aggression, we had put the team at a huge disadvantage the moment we had our falling out. Our inability to get along had led to an insufficient number of practice sessions and even those practice sessions that we did hold had been inefficient due to our infighting.

The Great Hall soon began to empty out. The Ravenpuffs were bounding out of the room to go and celebrate while the Slythindors dragged their feet to go and lick their wounds.

The team remained seated for a bit longer but soon, they too left the Great Hall. Eventually I was left alone with Scorpius in the large, empty room.

As the two of us sat in silence I realized just how disappointed in Scorpius I was. Over the years I had hated Scorpius, I had been envious of him and I had wanted to cast the worst hexes imaginable upon him. However, as far as I could remember, this was the first time I felt genuinely disappointed in him. Our friendship had made me expect more of him and he had truly let me down.

I was also disappointed in myself. It was hard to accept the fact that I had allowed Scorpius to bring me down to his level. Our friendship had made us better but this falling out was bringing out the worst, most uncompromising parts of both our personalities. I felt myself becoming resentful of Scorpius for bringing out that part of me.

Knowing that if I remained seated I would become furious with Scorpius, and with myself, I made a move to get up. The chair made a loud screeching noise as I pushed it back causing me to grimace. As I stood up, I turned my head to look at Scorpius. I opened my mouth to speak but I remained silent, not knowing exactly what to say. I had a hundred different things that I wanted to say to Scorpius but I didn't know where to start.

Seeing that I was no longer in my chair, Scorpius turned to look at me. Upon noticing that my mouth was agape, Scorpius sighed and nodded once. "I know." He muttered before looking away.

There was no way that Scorpius could have known everything that I had wanted to say to him, but I was confident that he understood the gist of it.

Grabbing my wand off the table I turned on my heel and strode out of the Great Hall, the sound of my footsteps echoing behind me. As I rounded the corner to climb the stairs I could see that Scorpius was still in his seat. For all I knew he was going to sit there all night.

_Scorpius_

"No." I snapped immediately upon seeing Claudia turn her head and open her mouth to speak to me.

As the entrance to the common room closed up behind me I turned and began to walk towards my dormitory.

"You don't even know what it is that I'm going to say!" Claudia protested from her spot on one of the black leather couches.

With my back turned to her I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly before opening the door to my room, stepping inside and then slamming it shut. I had, had a long and mentally taxing day and as such, was in no mood to have Claudia's voice further grate on my nerves.

Dumping my books onto my bed I sighed and sat down, running a hand over my face. It was the day after the trivia challenge and the members of both the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses had made it plenty clear that they were disappointed with the loss. Furthermore, they had made it plenty clear that they were disappointed in Rose and I. At some point over the past couple of months the two of us had become the unofficial leaders of the Slythindor team and as leaders, we had let them down.

I found it very strange to have people disappointed in me. That simply had never been a sentiment associated with my behavior before. Though now that I thought about it I was rather certain that, had my mother been privy to my behavior at school over the past couple of years she would have been pretty disappointed in me as well.

Exhausted by all of this emotional consideration I threw myself back onto my bed and let out a heavy sigh. Though I had hours of homework to get to I allowed my eyes to close. I could feel myself starting to drift off and I welcomed sleep as a respite for all that had, had happened over the past two days.

However, just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a loud tapping on my window. My nostrils flared out in annoyance. My first instinct was to just ignore whatever was making the taping noise but, seeing that the sound showed no signs of abating, I decided I might as well get up. Grumbling to myself I opened my eyes and sat up in bed. Turning my head towards my window I noticed that the culprit was my mother's owl.

My frustration melted away, replaced by sheer confusion. My mother wrote to me on a weekly basis but her letters usually came at the end of the week, not on a Monday.

I crossed the room in three strides and opened the window to allow the owl to fly in. The brown spotted owl flew into the room and circled the circumference before dropping a letter onto my desk. Rather than perching itself on my dresser, or any other piece of furniture, my mother's owl sped towards the window and flew out in a hurry. My brows shot up in surprise – my mother's owl was generally a very lazy animal.

Turning my attention towards the letter, I looked over to where it was sitting on my desk. With a frown, I walked over and gingerly picked up the letter. My name was written on the envelope in my mother's usual elegant cursive. Part of me wanted to get back to bed and leave the letter for later, but I suspected that the message, whatever it was, was important. Otherwise, she would have simply waited to include the news in her weekly letter.

I tore open the envelope and unfurled the letter. Even before I began to read, a quick scan told me that something was amiss. My mothers writing was hurried, some of the letters were right on top of each other, and in some places it looked as if my mother's hand had been shaking. Upon taking note of these indicators I felt my blood pressure skyrocket in anxiety. Inhaling sharply through my nose I began to read the letter.

After the first reading it felt as if my brain was refusing to process the information. Inhaling sharply I tightened my grip on the letter and read it again, this time at a much slower rate. As I reached the end of the letter, the news finally hit me. Reaching out my left arm I grabbed my desk chair and pulled it over. I sank down into my chair and angrily crumpled up the letter into a ball.

My mother had included a lot of fluff in the letter, telling me not to worry, to focus on my studies, and reassuring me several times, that everything would be okay. In the end however, all I took away from the letter was that my beloved grandmother Narcissa had fallen ill.

My immediate instinct was to pack up a few things and head home to be with my grandmother. However, that was not an option. In between reassuring comments, my mother had made it sufficiently clear that she did not want me leaving school. If things got worse, then she would come and bring me home.

This inability to act made me even more anxious than I already was. In one violent action I leapt off of my chair, knocking it to the ground. With the crumpled up letter in one hand I began to pace the room. As I ran a hand through my hair I tried to think of something to do, but I was drawing a complete blank.

An overwhelming sadness built up in my gut before spreading out to every inch of my body. I couldn't believe that my gentle, poised and loving grandmother was now bed ridden at St. Mungo's for the foreseeable future. I continued to pace around the room for a few minutes before I sat down on the edge of my bed. Pacing was making me nervous but I was finding it so hard to sit still that I couldn't keep from bouncing my leg.

At the moment I was so emotionally volatile that one-minute I was overwhelmingly sad and the next I was violently angry. In an attempt to calm my nerves I took a deep breath and buried my face into my hands. I knew that I needed to get out of this room but I didn't know where to go. If I went down into the common room I would be bombarded with questions from my more idiotic housemates. The Quidditch pitch was likely to be empty but I knew that the eerie silence of the Hogwarts grounds wouldn't do much to comfort me. I suspected that being out on the grounds on my own would only serve to instill a foreboding feeling in me.

Sitting there in my room, it suddenly dawned on me what it was that would placate my nerves. For a moment, I was stunned by my realization. Of all the people at Hogwarts why was _she_ the one person that I wanted to see at this moment? In spite of my gut reaction, I knew that it only made sense that I wanted to see Rose. Rose had always been the one person who, without fail, told it like it really was. At the same time, I knew she wouldn't be crass about the subject. Rose had always had an astonishing ability to not only sympathize with people, but to empathize with them. That was what I needed at the moment.

I stood up and began to make my way out of the dormitory and down the stairs towards the common room. Though I was determined to at least find Rose and see if she would talk to me, I found myself getting a bit nervous. I knew that I had hurt her by choosing to cater to my housemates' jealousies over our friendship. Despite this fear, I kept walking. I ignored the other students calling my name and made my way out of the dungeons. With the letter crumpled up in my left hand I walked up the stairs towards the library. While I couldn't be certain that Rose would be in the library, it was my best bet at finding her.

Upon entering the library I received a few odd looks due to the fact that I wasn't carrying a single book. I stopped by the entrance and glanced around, trying to see if I could spot Rose. When I was unable to immediately spot her deep auburn hair I began to weave through the stacks of bookshelves, making my way to the back of the library. Though I hadn't sat down to study with Rose in over a month I had a feeling that she continued to occupy our old table. She was a creature of habit.

Turning the corner by the books on advanced History of Magic, Rose finally came into my view. Just as I had suspected, she was sitting at our formerly shared table. Rose had spread out her books, occupying the entire table with her things. At the present moment she had her nose buried in one of her textbooks.

As I took a step towards her, Rose picked up her head and spotted me. Her green eyes widened in surprised and for a few seconds, neither of us spoke. Though I was still nervous about how I would be received, I realized that my previous emotional swings had abated. Surprisingly, I no longer had the overwhelming urge to destroy property.

"Scorpius?" Rose finally spoke my name. It sounded as if she was questioning my presence.

"Hi." It was all I could croak out the moment. I walked forward, slowly smoothing out the crumpled letter. When I finally reached the table I stopped in my tracks and held out the letter for Rose to take. If I tried to verbally relay the news I would loose my composure.

Rose frowned and searched my face for a few seconds but she gingerly took the letter out of my hand. I watched as Rose's eyes moved across the paper and as she read her face changed. The quizzical expression she had previously been wearing disappeared and was replaced by one of sadness. Upon finishing the letter Rose took a deep breath before she raised her eyes to look at me.

"Scorpius." She said my name once more, but this time it was soft and comforting.

Rose placed the letter down onto the desk and shoved her book aside. With her right hand she pushed out the chair beside her, indicating that I should sit down.

Doing as I was told I sat down next to her and placed my hands on the table, unsure of myself. Without saying another word, Rose reached out her hands and placed them on top of mine.

"I'm so sorry Scorpius." She said gently, leaning towards me. "I'm sure your parents are doing everything they can."

Hearing this, I nodded my head. I was grateful that Rose had refrained from telling me that everything would be okay. After all, she had no way of knowing that.

"I know they are." I muttered, glancing off to the side. While I was glad that I had plucked up the courage to come and see Rose I was ashamed by the fact that I was so overtly emotional. "I just wish there was something I could do." I hated merely sitting around feeling sad.

"I know." Rose squeezed my hands and offered me a sympathetic smile.

Though I was still upset and worried over my grandmother's health I found myself comforted by Rose's presence. She was the only person that I wanted to be around in this tough time and it made me realize just how stupid I had been to risk our friendship in order to placate my housemate's paranoia.


End file.
